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CO 


MINOR    WARS    OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


A   HISTORY 


OF 


THE  FRENCH  WAR, 


Ending  in  the  Conquest  of  Canada, 


WITH 


A  PRELIMINARV  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  EARLY  ATTEMPTS 
AT  COLONIZATION  AND  STRUGGLES  FOR  THE 
POSSESSION  OF  THE  CONTINENT.    ^ 


BY 

ROSSITER    JOHNSON. 


ILLUSTRATED, 


NEW  YORK : 
PQDDj   MEAD*"&   COMPANY, 

PUBLISUKRS. 


234166 


Copyright,  xSSa, 
By  DODD,  mead  &  COMPANY. 


^m 


PREFACE. 


anJ  1  R  r  1  *'   ''™^^"=  '^''''"^  ^"^  Gaul 

hough  m  form  a  straggling  story,  stretching  ove 
two  centuries,   offers  nnc  /»f  ♦!,«  _    ^  . 
.t,.^;^     r       .  "^  '"°''  interesting 

studies  of  nat»nal  character  and  destiny.     To  treat 

.  2'"-"'^!-«'y  ■"  a  volume  like  this  was  impossible, 
t  ""f  ^"^"^  ■'  •>"'  it  '-s  hoped  that  enough  ha^ 
been  told  to  give  the  reader  a  clear  idea  of  the 
character  and  sequence  of  all  the  significant  events, 
and  to  suggest  something  of  the  philosophy  of  the 
long  contest.     A  knowledge  of  this  is  absol  tl 

History  of  our  country. 

The  part  played  by  the  red  man  should  not  be 
overlooked.  Bloody  and  terrible  it  wa,  to  the 
vanquished  soldier,  thrice  bloody  and  hideous  to 
he  settler  and  his  little  family  ;  but  though  it  pro- 
onged  and  embittered  the  struggle,  it  had  no  real 
effect  upon  the  result.  In  the  earlier  wars  on  this 
continent,  the  tomahawk  and   sca.ping-knife  we^e 


IV 


PREFACE. 


enlisted  mainly  in  the  service  of  the  French  against 
the  British  ;  but  the  Briton  conquered  the  French- 
man nevertheless.  In  later  wars,  the  same  savage 
weapons  in  savage  hands  were  wielded  for  the 
English  against  the  Americans  ;  but  the  American 
conquered  the  Englishman.  There  is  no  more  im- 
portant lesson  to  teach  the  youth  who  must  be  our 
future  soldiers  and  commanders  than  this,  that  in 
the  warfare  of  nations  the  exercise  of  cruelty  has 
never  secured  the  ultimate  victory.  The  power  that 
only  tortures  and  murders  cannot  become  even  a 
balance  of  power  when  two  races  are  .in  conflict  for 
precedence,  or  two  opposite  ideas  for  survival. 
Civilization  must  fight  out  its  own  battles. 

An  account  of  Pontiac's  conspiracy,  the  final 
grand  effort  of  the  Indian  to  t'-ive  off  the  encroach- 
ing Saxon  from  American  soil,  would  have  formed 
an  interesting  sequel  to  the  narrative  of  the  French 
war ;  but  the  limits  of  space  forbade.  I  am  indebted 
to  my  sister,  Mrs.  Joseph  O'Connor,  for  valuable 
assistance  in  the  preparation  of  this  volume. 

R.  J. 

New  York,  September  13,  1882. 


CONTENTS. 


Early  Voyages  . . .         'CHAPTER  I.  „„ 

ataaacone,  i     -Hochelaga,  J2.-Donnacona,  12. 

CHAPTER  II 

^ Sjy*'^!'''* J^t ^^KNCH  Settlements' ,. 

Roberval  and  Cartier,  16. -Civil   Wars  in  France  *  is  -dV  iJ 

««u  x^sca/oot,  23.— The  Micmacs,  23.--The  Tesuits    ha  — 

D^IJu^cJionofSrt'^'"''  as^olonjof  St  SS'.  2^.- 
i^esiniction  of  St.  Saviour  and  Port  Royal  by  Argall,  31. 

n„-«      ^  CHAPTER   III. 

Quebec  Founded,  and  Taken  by  the  English 

Foundang  of   Quebec.    36. -Friendship  t^hth^Al^^inau/nV 

Vi;;r»n  P'^^T'  ^^'"^*  t*'*    ^'^^ois,  37.--St3of  De 

o'^Tltia:i^fT''r  f/r'l'  4i.~Hc;til7A«em?t 

ander  :?^"?'^,'.'^^-~S''*°l?^  Acadia  to  Sir  William  Alex- 

SeE^ctlfrf  ?o -^StL'T'"  ^"^^i*'  4?.-Capture'of 
^n7~.<  r'  so--— Ihe  La  Tours  m  Acad  a.  5i.--Treatv 
of  Germam-en-Laye,  52.-Death  of  Champion,  53.  ^ 

-r       r,  CHAPTER  IV. 

The  French  in  the  West. 

The  Iroquois,  54.-Fate  of  the  HuronsVss'.-FiihVat'the  iJ^^ir 
Sault.  56.-Forts  on  the  Richelieu.  57  -Moni«il  58  -Thf 

feK/^T^^K?^*^"."'  '"^  *^«  MississipprvSey.  62 -la 
Salle,  63.-La  Chme,  63.-IbervilIe  on  th^e  Gulf  o^  M;xico! 


35 


54 


Acadia. 


CHAPTER  V. 


Destruction  of  English  Trading-Stations,  66.-Feud'b;tw;;n 
Charnisay  and  La  Tour.  67.-4:apture  of  A^dia  Sy  the  E^e 
i^5;  78.-Restoration  to  France  by  the  Treaty  of  Breda  7? 
H^tn^^'^'^K   ^'1  P^"°bscot.  79.-Attack  by  Andros    to!?! 
W; T9.  '^    '"'""^'    79.~War  betweeJ   England' tnd 

KING  WILLIAM'S  War... ^''^''^^^^^• 
Iroquois  Attack  on  Montreal,  8o.~pian*of 'the  Fr^nrh'sV" 
Opture  of  English  Posts  at'  Hudson  Bay,  BzIu^^^Z 

/alb~Dl"ro^!'T6^i\?^4"*^^y^       84.-Salmon 
Planned  by  thTEng.ish.^r-J^SirwSS^^^Vj^te^^^^ 


66 


80 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


rAOB 


:■ 


ture  of  Port  Royal,  91.— Schuyler  at  La  Prairie,  95.— Phipi 
at  Quebec,  97. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Close  of  Kino  William's  War 105 

AtUcks  on  Well?  and  York,  106.— Fort  Built  at  Femaquid, 
107. — Attempt  to  take  it,  109. — Plan  to  Attack  Quebec,  109. 
—Proposed  Exchange  of  Prisoners,  no.— Oyster  River  As- 
sailed, III.— Schuyler  at  La  Prairie,  113. — Invasion  of  the 
Mohawk  Country,  114. — Trearhery  of  Chubb  at  Pemaauid, 
116. — Destruction  of  the  Fc.  119. — Church  and  Hathom 
on  the  St.  John,  120.— Haverh.il,  121. — French  Plan  for  the 
Capture  of  Boston,  123. — Iberville  in  Newfoundland  and  at 
Hudson  Bay,  124. — Frontenac  among  the  Iroquois,  126. — 
The  Peace  of  Ryswick,  128.— Deaths  of  Frontenac  and  Ville- 
bon,  129. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Queen  Anne's  War 130 

The  Spanish  Succession,  130.— The  Pretender,  131.— Attacks 
on  Wells,  Saco,  Casco,  Deerfield,  and  Lancaster,  132. — 
Church  in  Acadia,  134. — Destruction  of  English  Towns  in 
Newfoundland,  135.— -Sieges  of  Port  Royal,  135.— Attack  on 
Haverhill,  135. — Final  Capture  of  Pert  Royal  by  the  English, 
136.— Insurrection  of   the  Acadians,  137.— Attempted  Con- 

?uest  of  Canada  by  Admiral  Walker,  139.— Attack  of  the 
oxes  on  Detroit,  142.— Treaty  of  Utrecht,  i43.--Louis- 
bourg,  144. — Father  Rasles,  144. — Expeditions  of  Harmon, 
Westbrooke,  Winslow,  and  Lovewell,  147.— Indian  Treaty, 
149. — Forts  at  Niagara,  Oswego,  and  Crown  Point,  149. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
King  George's  War 150 

Sovereigns  of  England,  150. — The  Austrian  Succession,  150. — 
Maria  Theresa,  151.— Frederick  the  Great,  151. — The  War, 
152.— Hostilities  between  France  and  England,  153. — At- 
tacks on  Canso  and  Annapolis,  153. — La  Loutre,  154. — 
Proposed  Expedition  to  Louisbourg,  156. — Shirley,  Pepperell, 
and  Vaughan,  156. — Commodore  Warren,  157. — Whitefield, 

,  157. — Siege  and  Fall  of  Louisbourg,  162. — Rejoicings  in 
Boston,  163. — Project  to  Conquer  Canada,  164. — Fighting  in 
Acadia,  165.— Fate  of  the  French  Fleet,  166. — Success  of 
Ramezay  at  Grand  Pr6,  168. — Capture  of  Jonquifere's  Fleet, 
169. — The  French  and  Indians  on  the  Western  Frontier,  169. 
— Inactivity  of  the  English,  169. — Possible  Reasons  for  it, 
169.— The  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  170. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Acadia  after  the  War 171 

Failure  of  Negotiations  for  the  Adjustment  of  Boundaries,  171. 
—Encroachments  of  the  French,  172.— Settlement  of  Hali- 
fax, T73. — Refusal  of  the  Acadians  to  Take  the  Oath,  174. — 
Attacks  by  Indians,  175. — Burning  of  Beaubassin,  176. — Fort 
Lawrence,  177. — Fort  Beau  S6iour,  177^— Colonel  How's 
Fate,  1 78.— Expedition  to  Acadia,  179.— Fall  of  the  French 
Forts,  181.— Escape  of  La  Loutre,  182.— Exile  of  the  Aca- 
dians, 183.  i_^-^:^ 


CONTENTS. 

n^       r.        rr  CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Ohio  Valley.  ..... 

^wMr  P°?»J«  the  West;  Vsi.-OgdeVsbVrirVM -si; 
Wni.am  Johnson.  igi.-Confer^ce  with  theT^qud^'  igj 
-Lxped.tion  of  Bienville,  I94.-The  Walking  P°  J^ha^J* 
jf^'iZcLP^'"  Company.  i97.~Christopher  Gist.  197  1 
IMcaua  i.^  T/n^V^r^^v'^S.-Aench  At'tack  on 
ncqua,  i99--7Expedition  from  Canada,  aoo.- Mission  of 
George  Wash  ngtou.  aoi.-Fort  Du  Quesne.  a^-FUt 
with  JumonviUe.  204.-Fort  Necessity.  205. -Fight  at  Grfat 
Meadows.  aos-Fort  Cumberland.  a&.-6ouncifat  AlS^ 


vu 

rAoa 
189 


Braddock's  Defeat. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 


Capture  of   Ships  by   Boscawen,    2H.- Braddock'*  Ma;^K 

?eat"a^  '  ""^rh"?-""^  ^^^^^^^  ^ao.-EffecTof'tJ'e'Dt 
feat,   22i.-Wash>ngton,   22i.-Alliances  with  the  Indian^ 

_  ,  CHAPTER  Xni. 

Battle  of  Lake  George,  ... 

Expeditions  under  Shirley  and' Johnson;  "Mr-lshirievarOsl 
wego.  226.-Movementa  of  Diiskau.  226.-BuiSg  of  Fort 

2,c -1ipS;;i^1^'"''^^  ^'^^i^"'  228.-First  Enla^emen? 
23c.-FightattheCamp,  232. -Fight  with  Macginnis   2^-1  ~ 

?,7*''i°ii°*''?'°"'  234.-Erection  of  Fort  WilHam  Henrv 

Octai^'^.T.  '  p£"  f  ''ri^'^o?'''  a34.--Hosti;S  on Te 
ucean,  aas.—Plans  for  the  Ensuing  Year,  236. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
French  Successes *v  ^xv. 

sfrLrlan  ?  i  ^^r<^^bi^^  239- Adventure  of  Brad- 
r^nt,Vf^^'r£^P*"'"''°^  ^"""^  ^'^U*  24o.~Montcalm,  241  — 
Capture  of    Oswego,    242.-Movemcnts  of  Webb     JiJ*- 

t^n^n?^^'  \rP'  Quartered  on  the  Cities.  245 .-Dev^'^ 
DeLce'ts^^  ml^t''^''^'  246.-Din;.iddie's  pl^  o? 
o'JtSn?n'gr2ra!!;VTe7r^^^^^^^^  249. -Destruction 

T  ^,  CHAPTER  XV. 

LOUISBOURG  AND  FORT  WiLLIAM   HeNRV  .  .  . 

the  Fre'^nc^'^if '•  V^T"T  ^/^^^^'^  StVrk's' Men 'and 
mL  '   ?53.  —  Vaudreuil's    Attempt  at   Fort   William 

25r^pS^';;^T"2°"?''  ^r^"'  ^54.-Afrairs i  thel^Sh^ 
«6'Zw?S.H  ff  Louisbourg.  255.--Admiral  Holboume 
landlTi  r^'  ^"'"^  Louisbourg.  256. -Opinion  in  Eng 
261  -U';;;;;^  r '"^"^- •  ^58^-Siege  of  Fort  AVilHa™  Henr?. 
fccre  hv  MnT?'"^'  ft.-Monroe's  Surrender,  265.- 
German  FlLoA«^^"i?  ^'?^'*""'  266.  -  Descent  on  the 
270~Thfnnl  2^8-~«»tuat<>n  at  the  Close  of  the  Year, 
270.--The  Duke  of  Newcastle.  270.— William  Pitt,  271. 

T  nPTc»«.  CHAPTER  XVI. 

1  -01  isbouro  and  Ticonderoga .... 

ilan  of    the    Campaign,  273.-Siege  of"LoLisb<;ui;V74;il 


10^ 


224 


237 


252 


273 


302 


319 


^Ml  CONTRNTS. 

The  Surrender,  2.77.-~Effect  of  the  Victory,  278.— Destruction 
of  French  Settlements,  278.— Expedition  against  Ticonderoea 
*Z^~"S?""1^^  '"  *^«  ^*^*'  281.— Death  of  Lord  Ho^e 
28i.~The  Attack,  285.--The    Flight,   287.-Terror  of  the 
Oeneral,  287.— Conduct  of  Bradstreet,  288. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

RONTENAC  AND  Du   QUESNE 2QO 

Skirmishes  near  Lake  Champlain,  ago'.-Rogers  and  Putnam, 
29i.~Bradstreet  s  Expedition,  292.— Capture  of  Fort  Fronte- 
nac,  293.— General  Forbes  in  Pennsylvania,  2Q5.~Granfs 
Defeat,  297.--Capture  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  300. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Niagara  and  Lake  Ch  ^vmplain 

Plan  of  Operations  for  the  Year,  302.— W^ness  of'the  French. 
303.--&iege  and  Capture  of  Fort  Niagara,  304.— Death  of 
rrideaux,  305.— Western  Forts  Occupied  by  the  English, 
308.— Attack  at  Oswego,  309.— Inaction  of  General  Gage. 
310.— Amherst  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  310  —Op- 
erations on  the  Lake,  312.— Punishment  of  the  St.  Francis 
Indians,  315, — Adventures  of  Rogers,  316. 

^       ^                             CHAPTER  XIX. 
The  Siege  of  Quebec 

Situation  of  the  City,  3I9.— Sailing  orthe  English  Fleet,*  323' 
-Officers  and  Forces  of  the  English,  323.  -  Advance  of 
Durell,  324.— Mistake  of  the  French,  324.— First  Blow.  324. 
—Passage  up  the  River,  325.— Skirmish  with  Peasants,  325. 
—Attempts  to  Fire  the  Fleet,  326.— Incidents  of  the  SlejiLf^^^' 
327.— Occupation  of  the  East  Bank  of  the  MontmorencP 
by  the  English,  331.— The  Scholars'  Battle,  332.— Firine  of 
the  City,  332.— Passage  of  Ships  by  the  Town,  333.— Battle 
of  Montmorenci^  336. 

^       ^  CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Capture  op  Quebec 

Attacks  of  the  French  on  Scouting  pVrties,* '341. —Repris^V  by 

Wolfe,  343-— Townshend's  Plan,  344-— Wolfe's  Opinion  of 
It.  345.-7  Montcalm  s  Prediction,  345- —Transfer  of  the 
Army,  346.— The  Anse  du  Foulon,  or  Wolfe's  Cove,  348. 
—Landing  and  Ascent  of  the  Troops,  349-— Diversion  at 
Beauport,  350 —Position  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  351 
—Arrival  of  Montcalm,  352.— Arrangement  and  Numbers  of 
o^A  S^P^'  ?52--The  Battle  of  the  Plains  of  Abraham, 
356.— Rout  of  the  French,  357.— Death  of  Wolfe,  357.— 
Death  of  Montcalm,  359.  ^^' 

^       „                              CHAPTER  XXI. 
THE  Surrender  of  Canada 

^'T.  °'  Q'f  b«^  by  De  Levis,  363.-Battle*at  "silierir  w;od' 
365.— Amherst  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  368.— Surrender  of  Isle 
Koyale,  369.— Surrender  of  Montreal  and  the  Whole  of 
Canada,  37o.-The  Treaty  of  Paris,  37i.-Predictions  of 
the  Revolt  of  the  Colonies,  372. 


341 


363 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  FRENCH  WAR. 


CHAPTER   I. 

EARLY    VOYAGES. 

Claims  of  European  Nations  to  American  Territory-<:ontests  of  the 
English  and  French-The  Indians  in  War-TI»e  Cabots-Corte- 
real— Spanish  Explorers— Decree  of  Alexander  VI.— Verrazzano— 
Cartier— Stadacon6— IIochelaga-Donnacona. 

For  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  the  discov- 
ery of  the  continent  of  America,  at   the  close  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  no  permanent  settlement  was 
made  by  Europeans  in  its  northern  portion.     The 
New  World  was  looked  upon  'mainly  as  a  land  of 
adventure  and  discovery,  a  land  holding  the  pos. 
sibility  of  unimagined  wonders  and  undreamed-of 
riches,  waiting  only  for  the  hand  brave  enough  and 
adventurous  enough  to  seize  them  and  carry  them 
back  in  triumph  to  the  Old  World.     The  sailor  and 
the  merchant  looked  to  it  for  the  realization  of  their 
brightest   visions,    and  crowned    heads  confidently 
expected   its  wealth   to  replenish  their  exhausted 
treasuries  ;  but  not  till  the  latter  part  of  the  six- 
teenth century  was  it  sought  as  a  refuge  and  a  home 


■■"■'-'-' '    I'l  "'■ 'TtTfnrffrnti^TJTT.. : 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  FRENCH  WAR. 


CHAPTER   I. 

EARLY    VOYAGES. 

Claims  of  European  Nations  to  American  Territory--Contests  of  the 
English  and  French-The  Indians  in  War-Tl»e  Cabots-Corte- 
real— Spanish  Explorers— Decree  of  Alexander  VI.— Verrazzano— 
Cartier— Stadaconfe— IIochelaga-Donnacona. 

For  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  the  discov- 
ery of  the  continent  of  America,  at   the  close  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  no  permanent  settlement  was 
made  by  Europeans  in  its  northern  portion.     The 
New  World  was  looked  upon  'mainly  as  a  land  of 
adventure  and  discovery,  a  land  holding  the  pos- 
sibility  of  unimagined  wonders  and  undreamed-of 
riches,  waiting  only  for  the  hand  brave  enough  and 
adventurous  enough  to  seize  them  and  carry  them 
back  in  triumph  to  the  Old  Worid.     The  sailor  and 
the  merchant  looked  to  it  for  the  realization  of  their 
brightest   visions,    and  crowned    heads  confidently 
expected   its  wealth   to  replenish  their  exhausted 
treasuries  ;  but  not  till  the  latter  part  of  the  six- 
teenth century  was  it  sought  as  a  refuge  and  a  home 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


[1492. 


t 


; 


by  the  persecuted  adherents  of  the  new  religion,  and 
as  a  missionary  field  by  the  reawakened  zeal  of  the 
older  Christian  Church. 

The  clainis  of  European  nations  to  American  ter- 
ritory  were  vast  and  vague.  When  an  adventurer 
touched  a  strip  of  sandy  shore,  he  at  once  planted 
upon  it  the  flag  of  his  nation,  and  took  possession 
of  the  whole  continent  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign. 
These  indefinite  claims— in  some  instances  strength- 
ened by  colonization  or  confirmed  by  Indian  grants 
—were  afterward  used  as  a  pretext  whenever  indi- 
vidual interests  or  religious  hatred  or  European 
wars  excited  any  of  the  feeble  American  colonies 
to  make  themselves  and  their  neighbors  still  feebler 
by  intercolonial  hostilities. 

The  most  successful  explorers  were  Italians  ;  but 
they  were  all  in  the  service  of  countries  other  than 
their  own  — in  that  of  Spain,  England,  or  France. 
The  Spaniards  made  no  attempt  to  establish  colo- 
nies, or  seriously  to  assert  their  claims,  north  of 
Florida  ;  and  there  they  came  somewhat  into  col- 
lision  with  the  English  and  French.  To  those  two 
nations  was  left  the  great  struggle  for  the  possession 
of  the  northern  coast  and  the  interior. 

The  worst  feature  of  their  contests  was  the  parti- 
cipation of  the  red  men,  with  their  savage  and  indis- 
criminate  modes  of  warfare.     That  most  of  their 


||L 


. ^^^..^  ^   ^^. 


-^ 


1500.] 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


peculiar  atrocities  were  committed  in  the  interest  of 
France  was  not  wholly  due  to  greater  depravity  on 
the  part  of  the  French  ;  for  in  later  wars  the  Eng- 
lish  showed  themselves  quite  willing  to  employ  the 
same   barbarous  and   irresponsible   allies,  knowing 
that  their  outrages  would  be  perpetrated,  not  upon 
the  hereditary  foes  of  England,  but  upon  English- 
men themselves.     Many  of  the  leaders  on  both  sides 
would  have  been  glad  to  have  their  savage  friends 
conform   to   the   usages  of  civilized   warfare  ;  but 
when  the  Indian's  zeal  was  once  awakened  and  his 
thirst  for  blood  aroused,  it  was  impossible  to  hold 
him  to  a  code  which  he  did  not  recognize,  and  which 
to  him  seemed  weak  and  cowardly.     His  own  laws 
of  war  knew  no  mercy  for  the  conquered.     When 
he  failed,  he  expected  none  ;  and  when  he  was  vic- 
torious, he  deemed   himself  defrauded  if  he  were 
forced  to  let  prisoners  go  untortured  and  unharmed. 
Hence  the  horrible  massacres  that  followed  some  of 
the  French  victories. 

That  the  Indians  fought  more  frequently  and 
zealously  on  the  side  of  the  French,  was  due  to  the 
superior  tact  and  skill  of  the  French  ih  dealing  with 
them,  and  to  the  fact  that  they  earlier  saw  the  ad- 
vantage  of  gaining  and  holding  the  friendship  of  the 
natives.  The  British  at  first  adopted  the  policy  of 
avoiding  them  as  much  as  possible,  of  driving  thtm 


■Jt-—**..— .. 


EARLY   VOYAGES. 


[150a 


back  into  the  interior  ;  they  regarded  them  as  in- 
capable of  civilization,  and  scarcely  looked  upon 
them  as  subjects  for  the  influences  of  Christianity. 
The  French,  on  the  other  hand,  tried  from  the  first 
to  Christianize,  if  not  to  civilize  them.  They  drew 
them  when  they  could  into  missionary  villages  near 
their  own  settlements,  and  sought  to  bind  them  to 
themselves  by  the  bonds  of  a  common  religion.  The 
wild  life  of  the  savages  attracted  many  adventurous 
spirits  ^rom  the  French  colonies,  who  lived  among 
them  as  coureurs  de  bois,  or  wood-rangers,  adopting 
their  mode  of  life  and  gaining  an  influence  which 
told  largely  for  France  in  times  of  war. 

Almost  the  only  Indians  who  stood  by  the  English 
were  the  Iroquois,  or  Five  Nations,  whose  home 
was  in  New  York.  Even  their  friendship  often 
wavered  ;  and  it  might  be  said  that  their  adhesion 
to  the  English  was  not  because  they  loved  them 
more,  but  because  they  loved  the  French  less. 
Their  enmity  may  have  been  caused  by  the  fact 
that  the  French,  in  the  early  days  of  their  settlement 
in  the  country,  joined  against  the  Iroquois  with  their 
enemies,  the  Algonquins  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

When  the  English  woke  to  the  importance  of 
taking  advantage  of  the  distrust  of  the  Iroquois 
toward  the  French,  they  were  never  successful  in 
rousing  them  to  the  zeal  in  their  cause  which  the 


u'^i—  I  lAl 


1500.] 


£AKLY   VOYAGES. 


Indians  of  Maine  and  New  Brunswick  displayed  in 
the  cause  of  the  French.  Yet,  though  the  English 
colonies  availed  themselves,  as  far  as  they  could,  of 
the  help  of  the  savages,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
record  of  the  French  in  America  is  stained  with 
many  more  atrocities  not  justifiable  by  any  rules  of 
civilized  warfare — descents  on  unarmed  laborers  in 
the  fields,  and  midnight  attacks  on  peaceful  settle- 
ments, with  all  the  horrors  of  indiscriminate  massa- 
cre, which  were  incited  and  often  led  by  French- 
men, and  even  in  some  cases  by  the  ministers  of 
religion,  and  in  periods  of  nominal  peace. 

The  contests  between  the  English  and  the  French 
for  the  possession  of  American  territory  were  not 
ended  until  the  close  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  in 
1763.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  while  the  colonies 
which  England  had  settled  with  her  own  sons,  and 
which  helped  her  to  conquer  New  France,  had  re- 
volted and  become  an  independent  nation  in  twenty 
years,  those  then  wrested  from  France,  French  in 
their  origin  and  devotedly  loyal  to  the  French 
Crown,  have  contentedly  remained  under  British 
rule  for  more  than  a  century. 

The  English  claims  were  based  on  the  discoveries 
of  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  Venetians  living  in 
England^  who,  in  i497-'8,  examined  the  coast  from 
Labrador  to  Virginia.     The  Portuguese,   in   1500, 


mm 


rjii»-rni»-iM  I  imii  I   »mj 


■  *^%r»^'%-.f  ^\u-^- 


EARLY   VOYAGES. 


[1512. 


sent  out  Caspar  Cortereal,  who  explored  the  coast 
northward,  and  stole  some  of  the  natives,  whom  he 
took  home  for  slaves.  The  Portuguese  merchants 
therefore  called  the  place  Terra  de  Labrador ^  "  land 
of  laborers." 

The  best  known  explorers  sent  out  by  Spain,  after 
Columbus,  are  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  who  discovered 
and  named  Florida  in  1512  ;  Hernan  Cortes,  the 
conqueror  of  Mexico  ;  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez,  who 
discovered  the  land  of  the  Appalaches  ;  and  Her- 
nando De  Soto,  who  found  the  Mississippi  in  1541, 
and  was  buried  in  its  waters  the  following  year. 
Under  the  name  of  Florida,  Spain  claimed  a  vast 
country  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the 
Arctic  Ocean.  This  claim,  based  on  the  right  of  dis- 
covery, was  further  confirmed  to  Spain  by  a  bull  of 
Pope  Alexander  VI.,  making  the  Spaniards  exclu- 
sive masters  of  all  America.  The  decree  of  the 
Pope,  however,  was  not  powerful  enough  to  prevent 
Francis  I.  of  France  from  attempting  to  gain  some 
share  in  the  glory  and  profits  of  discovery. 

The  first  explorer  sent  out  by  the  French  Govern- 
ment was  John  Verrazzano,  an  Italian ;  though 
French  sailors,  in  common  with  those  of  other  na- 
tions, had  resorted  to  the  coasts  of  Newfoundland 
for  years  to  fish  for  cod,  some  as  early,  at  least,  as 


1523] 


EARLY   VOYAGES. 


1504.  Newfoundland  and  Labrador,  or  parts  of 
them,  were  indefinitely  called  Baccalaos,  a  word 
said  to  mean  codfish  in  the  dialect  of  the  Basque 
provinces.  The  sailors  had  a  tradition  that  two 
islands  north  of  Newfoundland  were  haunted  by 
demons,  whose  clamor  filled  the  air  with  confused 
sounds  which  were  heard  by  ships  venturing  near 
the  unholy  coast.  They  were  called  the  Isles  of 
Demons,  and  were  represented  on  maps  of  the  time 
with  their  infernal  inhabitants  dancing  about  in 
wings,  horns,  and  tails. 

Verrazzano  set  out  in  1523  with  four  ships,  but 
encountered  a  storm,  and  finally  crossed  the  ocean 
with  only  one,  the  Dauphine,  carrying  fifty  men  and 
provisions  for  eight  months.*  He  first  saw  the  con- 
tinent near  where  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  now 
stands  ;  but,  as  the  shores  were  thickly  lined  with 
savages,  he  did  not  dare  to  land.  The  Indians 
made  signs  urging  the  sailors  to  come  on  shore,  and 
one,  more  daring  than  the  rest,  took  some  presents 


*  The  authenticity  of  this  story,  which  rests  upon  a  letter  attributed 
to  Verrazzano  and  published  by  Ramusio  in  1556,  has  recently  been  ' 
called  in  question  and,  if  not  disproved,  at  least  shown  to  be  doubt- 
ful. I  have  thought  best,  however,  to  let  the  reader  see  it,  with  tnis 
warning  as  to  its  character.  It  was  first  disputed  by  T,  Buckingham 
Smith,  in  1864.  J.  Carson  Brevoort  defends  the  story,  in  his  "Ver- 
razzano the  Navigator"  (New  York,  1874),  and  Henry  C.  Murphy  re- 
jects it,  in  his  "Voyage  of  Verrazzano"  (New  York,  1875). 


iii  —  iliW  nil 


■  ■! 


M 


n 


8 


EARLY   VOYAGES. 


[1533. 


and  swam  for  the  beach  ;  but,  losing  his  courage 
when  near  the  land,  he  threw  all  he  had  to  them  and 
started  to  return.  A  breaker,  however,  tossed  him 
back  upon  the  beach,  and  the  Indians,  running  to 
his  aid,  took  him  ashore,  and  built  a  great  fire. 
The  terrified  sailor,  and  his  companions  who  were 
looking  on  from  the  boat,  had  no  doubt  that  they 
were  going  to  make  a  meal  of  him,  or  offer  him  in 
sacrifice  to  the  sun.  But  he  soon  found  that  the  fire 
was  to  warm  him  and  dry  his  clothes.  The  Indians 
gathered  about  him,  admired  his  white  skin,  caressed 
him,  and  took  him  down  to  the  beach  when  he 
wanted  to  return  to  the  boat,  dismissing  him  with 
most  affectionate  embraces. 

The  Dauphine  proceeded  northward  along  the 
coast,  carrying  away  an  Indian  child  stolen  from  its 
mother  in  Virginia,  explored  New  York  Bay  and 
Long  Island  Sound,  and  stopped  in  the  harbor  of 
Newport,  where  the  white  men  were  most  cordially 
treated  by  the  Indians.  Having  gone  as  far  north 
as  Newfoundland,  Verrazzano  returned  to  France, 
and  wrote  for  the  King  the  first  known  description 
of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States. 

The  most  illustrious  navigator  sent  out  by  France 
in  the  sixteenth  century  was  Jacques  Cartier,  of  the 
seaport  town  of  St.  Malo,  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  kingdom.     He  was  sent  at  the  suggestion  of 


I534-] 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


Philip  Chabot,  Seigneur  de  Brion,  Admiral  of 
France,  a  favorite  of  the  King,  who  indue  d  his 
master  to  make  another  attempt  to  gain  a  footing  in 
the  country  which  had  given  so  much  wealth  to  the 
Spaniards.  Cartier  sailed  on  the  20th  of  April, 
1534,  with  two  ships  of  sixty  tons,  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-two  men. 

The  voyage  was  so  prosperous  that  Cartier 
reached  Cape  Bonavista  in  Newfoundland  on  the 
loth  of  May.  Finding  the  land  still  covered  with 
snow  and  ice,  he  turned  to  the  southeast,  and 
landed  at  a  port"  which  he  named  St.  Catharine. 
Then  turning  north  again,  he  named  some  small 
islands  Biicl  Islands.  He  was  surprised,  he  says,  to 
see  a  white  bear  as  large  as  a  cow  on  one  of  these 
islands,  to  which  it  had  swum  from  the  mainland,  a 
distance  of  fourteen  leagues.  As  soon  as  it  saw  the 
boats,  it  took  to  the  water,  and  Cartier  killed  and 
took  it  the  next  day  near  Newfoundland.  He  sailed 
nearly  around  the  island,  which  he  described  as  the 
most  wretched  country  to  be  found,  with  "  nothing 
but  frightful  rocks  and  barren  lands  covered  with 
scanty  moss — but  inhabited,  notwithstanding,  by 
men  well-made,  who  wore  their  hair  tied  on  the  top 
of  the  head,  like  a  bundle  of  hay,  with  birds' 
feathers  irregularly  inserted,  which  had  a  most 
curious  effect. " 


10 


EARLY   VOYAGES. 


[>534. 


Crossing  to  the  mainland,  he  entered  a  deep  bay, 
which  he  named  the  Bay  of  Cbaleurs,  on  account  of 
the  heat.  There  is  a  tradition  that  it  had  before 
been  entered  by  Spaniards,  who,  finding  no  signs 
of  mineral  wealth  there,  exclaimed,  Acd  nada  / 
' '  Nothing  there  ! " —  an  expression  which  the  Indians 
caught  up  and  repeated  to  the  French,  who  sup- 
posed it  to  be  the  name  of  the  country,  whence  the 
word  Canada.  It  is  more  probable,  however,  that 
Canada  is  the  Iroquois  word  Kannata,  a  village. 

Having  explored  a  large  part  of  the  bay,  Cartier 
landed  at  Gaspe  and  took  possession  in  the  name 
of  the  King  of  France,  raising  a  cross  thirty  feet 
high,  on  which  was  hung  a  shield  with  the  arms  of 
the  country  and  the  words,  Vive  le  Roy  !  "  Long 
live  the  King!"  After  discovering  Anticosti,  he 
returned  to  France,  taking  with  him  two  Indians, 
who  picked  up  a  little  French  and  served  as  inter- 
preters the  following  year. 

The  reports  of  Cartier' s  voyage  convinced  the 
court  of  Francis  I.  that  it  was  desirable  to  found  a 
colony,  both  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  profit- 
able trade  and  for  saving  the  heathen,  not  only 
from  their  heathenism,  but  from  the  heresies  that 
might  be  imported  among  them  by  the  Protestant 
peoples  of  Europe.  The  Vice-Admiral  Charles  de 
Mouy  obtained  a  fuller  commission  for  Cartier,  with 


a  i! 


1535.] 


EARLY   VOYAGES, 


II 


three  well-equipped  vessels ;  and  all  the  sailors  as- 
sembled at  the  Cathedral  on  Whitsunday,  by  Car- 
tier's  directions,  and  received  the  bishop's  bene- 
diction. 

They  embarked  on  the  19th  of  May,  in  fine 
weather,  but  a  furious  storm  arose  the  next  day, 
and  the  scattered  ships  were  tossed  about  for  more 
than  a  month,  but  at  last  met  in  the  gulf  or  Great 
Bay  on  the  26th  of  July.  On  the  loth  of  August, 
Cartier  gave  to  a  small  bay  in  the  mainland,  north  of 
Anticosti,  the  name  of  St.  Lawrence,  in  honor  of 
the  saint  whose  day  it  was.  This  name  was  after- 
ward extended  to  the  whole  gulf,  and  to  the  river 
also,  which  had  before  been  known  as  the  River  of 
Canada,  or  River  of  the  Great  Bay,  and  by  Cartier 
called  the  River  of  Hochelaga.  Hochelaga  was  the 
chief  Indian  town  on  its  banks,  and  stood  on  the 
site  of  Montreal. 

They  ascended  the  river,  entered  the  Saguenay 
on  September  ist,  examined  the  mouth  of  that  river, 
and  then  pursued  their  voyage  up  the  great  stream. 
The  large  island  just  below  Quebec,  now  known  as 
the  Isle  of  Orleans,  was  so  covered  with  grape-vines 
that  Cartier  named  it  Bacchus  Island.  He  stopped 
next  in  the  St.  Charles,  just  north  of  Quebec,  near 
its  mouth.  On  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Quebec — between  Fabrique  Street  and  the  Coteau 


w 


nnaB 


sffgm 


la 


EARLY   VOYAGES. 


|iS3S. 


'A'] 


de  Sainte  Genevieve,  it  is  thought — was  an  Indian 
town  called  Stadacon6.  Here  he  received  a  visit 
from  a  chief,  named  Donnacona,  who  talked  with 
Cartier  by  the  aid  of  the  two  Indians  who  had  been 
to  France. 

Cartier  had  heard  of  the  much  larger  town  farther 
up  the  river,  called  Hochelaga,  and  resolved  to  push 
on  to  it.  The  Indians  of  Stadacon6,  who  were  of  a 
different  nation  from  those  of  Hochelaga,  tried  to 
dissuade  him,  representing  that  the  way  was  long 
and  beset  with  difficulties.  When  this  failed  to 
change  his  purpose,  they  pretended  to  have  received 
a  message  from  one  of  their  gods  threatening  the" 
French  with  storm  and  tempest,  if  they  should 
ascend  the  river.  Cartier  sent  back  word  to  the 
god  that  he  was  a  fool,  and  set  out  with  one  of  the 
ships,  the  Great  Hermine,  arid  two  long-boats.  The 
anxiety  of  Donnacona  and  his  people  was  probably 
caused  by  the  fear  that  a  rival  nation  might  take 
from  them  the  advantages  of  trade  and  alliance  with 
this  strange  new  people,  from  whose  unknown 
abilities  and  resources  they  hoped  not  only  gain, 
but  an  easy  victory  over  their  enemies. 

The  voyagers  were  obliged  to  leave  their  ships  at 
Lake  St.  Peter,  having  missed  the  channel  and  run 
aground,  and  went  on  with  only  the  two  boats, 
reaching  Hochelaga  the  2d  of  October.     The  town 


I535.] 


EARLY  VOYAGES. 


13 


was  round,  and  enclosed  by  three  rows  of  trees. 
The  middle  row  stood  upright,  and  the  other  two 
were  inclined  and  crossed  above  it.  Then  the  sides 
of  the  pyramidal  wall  were  covered  with  logs  well  » 
fastened  together.  There  was  but  one  gate  ;  and 
along  the  inside  of  the  enclosing  wall  or  palisade 
was  a  gallery  reached  by  ladders,  and  stored  with 
stones  for  the  defence  of  the  fortress.  Inside  of  the 
town  were  fifty  cabins,  each  over  fifty  paces  long 
and  fourteen  or  fifteen  paces  wide.  These  cabins 
were  tunnel-shaped,  made  of  saplings  bent  together, 
and  covered  with  bark.  Each  was  occupied  by  a 
large  number  of  families. 

The  Hochelagans  received  the  French  with  cour- 
tesy, feasted  them,  and  gave  them  gifts.  They 
looked  with  great  admiration  at  the  dress  of  the 
strangers,  their  armor  and  weapons,  their  trumpets, 
their  fair  skins  and  bearded  faces.  Cartier  has  left 
a  description  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  service  held 
among  them.  One  day  the  warriors  formed  a  circle, 
on  the  outside  of  which  were  the  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  in  the  centre  the  Frenchmen,  all  the  sav- 
ages gazing  at  them  "as  if  they  were  going  to  play 
a  mystery."  Then  the  chief  advanced,  pointed  at 
his  decrepit  limbs,  and  made  signs  that  the  French 
should  heal  him.  His  example  was  followed  by  all 
the  sick,  the  halt,  and  the  lame,  who  came  them- 


If 


f 


H 


EAULY    VOYAGES. 


[1535. 


selves,  or  were  brought  to  the  supposed  healer. 
Cartier  was  perplexed,  but  seized  the  opportunity 
to  make  a  religious  impression  on  their  minds.  He 
recited  the  beginning  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  the  sick,  and  gave 
presents  of  knives  to  the  men,  beads  to  the  women, 
and  little  tin  lambs  to  the  children.  Then  he 
prayed  and  recited  aloud  the  passion  of  the  Saviour, 
aiid  the  ceremony  was  concluded  by  a  mighty  blast 
from  the  trumpets,  which  set  the  savages  nearly 
beside  themselves  with  wonder  and  delight. 

The  same  day  Cartier  climbed  the  mountain,  and 
gave  it  the  name  which  is  now  borne  by  the  city  and 
the  island,  Mount  Royal — Montreal.  Looking  from 
its  summit  over  the  vast  extent  of  wooded  country, 
with  the  great  river  rolling  by  and  the  dark  waters 
of  the  Ottawa  descending  to  meet  it  from  the 
unknown  wilderness,  he  thought  no  better  site  for 
a  city  could  be  found,  and  hoped,  no  doubt,  himself 
to  lay  there  the  foundations  of  a  French  empire  in 
the  West. 

On  taking  leave  of  the  friendly  savages,  the 
French  returned  to  the  St.  Charles,  called  by  them 
the  St.  Croix,  where  they  had  left  the  greater  part 
of  the  men.  They  found  that  barracks  had  been 
built  during  their  absence  and  surrounded  by  a  kind 
of  intrenchment,  sufficient  to  protect  them  from  a 


I53'i] 


EARLY   VOYAGES. 


•S 


.surprise.  The  Indians,  Iiowever,  continued  friend. 
ly.  But  the  sailors  were  attacked  by  scurvy,  and 
tvventy.five  of  them  died.  Cartier  himself  fell  sick 
and  all  of  them  might  have  perished,  had  they  not 
learned  by  accident  of  the  Indian  remedy  for  the 
d.sease-a  decoction  made  from  the  leaves  and  bark 
of  a  tree  called  by  the  Indians  Anneda,  which  is 
thought  to  have  been  the  white  pine.  A  week  after 
they  began  using  it,  the  sick  were  all  restored. 

In  the  spring  Cartier  set  sail  for  France.  Having 
got  Donnacona  and  some  of  his  principal  men  into 
his  hands,  he  carried  them  with  him ;  a  piece  of 
treachery  which  he  excused  by  saying  that  the 
savages  were  making  hostile  preparations  and  at- 
tempting to  get  hold  of  Cartier  himself.  The 
Indians  he  took  away  were  all  baptized  in  France 
and  died  there.  Donnacona  lived  four  or  five  years 
after  his  capture. 


i^rr^ 


I    ! 


:il  ! 


ill-*; 


m 


CHAPTER  II. 

DESTRUCTION  OF  FRENCH   SETTLEMENTS. 

Roberval  and  Carrier — Civil  Wars  in  France — De  la  Roche — Pont- 
grave  and  Champlain — De  Monts — Poutrincourt  and  Lescarbot — 
The  Micmacs — The  Jesuits — Madame  de  Guercheville — Colony  of 
St.  Saviour — Destruction  of  St.  Saviour  and  Port  Royal. 

Either  Cartier's  report  of  his  second  voyage  dis- 
appointed the  hopes  which  had  awaited  the  result  of 
his  enterprise,  or  the  war  in  France  drove  the  sub- 
ject from  the  minds  of  those  who  had  power  to  push 
on  the  undertaking ;  for  nothing  further  was  done 
till  1540,  when  a  gentleman  of  Picardy,  Francis  de 
la  Roque,  Seigneur  de  Roberval,  received  a  patent, 
declaring  him  Lord  of  Norumbega,  the  King's  Vice- 
roy and  Lieutenant-General  in  Canada,  Hochelaga, 
Saguenay,  Newfoundland,  Belleisle,  Carpon,  La- 
brador, Great  Bay,  and  Baccalaos.  This  flourishing 
and  pompous  beginning  had  a  most  contemptible 
outcome. 

The  next  year  Roberval  went  to  the  St.  Lawrence, 
sending  Cartier,  who  was  to  be  his  pilot,  in  advance. 
The  Indians  at  Stadacon6  crowded  about  Cartier's 
ship,  asking  fpr  Donn^icpna  and  their  other  country- 


1 541- J    FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED. 


17 


men  who  had  been  taken  awry,  and  Cartier  told  them 
Donnacona  was  dead,  but  the  others  were  living 
in  France  in  great  state,  and  were  not  willing  to 
return  to  their  own  country.  The  Indians  receive^ 
the  story  with  distrust  ;  and  when  Cartier,  after 
building  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  Cape  Rouge  River 
above  Stadacone,  left  most  of  his  men  there,  and 
went  up  the  river  to  Hochelaga,  they  killed  two  of 
those  who  were  left.  On  Cartier's  return,  the  men 
at  the  fort,  which  was  called  Charlesbourg  Royal, 
discouraged  both  at  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  and 
the  failure  of  Roberval  to  arrive  from  France, 
whither  he  had  gone  for  supplies,  clamored  to  go 
home,  and  Cartier  yielded.  Near  Newfoundland 
they  met  Roberval,  who  ordered  them  back  ;  but 
Cartier  stole  away  with  his  ship  in  the  night.  In 
1543  he  went  out  again,  and  brought  back  the  rem- 
nant of  Roberval's  colony,  much  reduced  by  disease 
and  executions  for  mutiny. 

Roberval  seems  to  have  been  stern  and  vindic- 
tive, uncompromising  and  impolitic  in  his  manage- 
ment, and  ill  adapted  to  be  the  head  of  a  colony 
where  he  had  to  rule  a  lawless  band  of  adventurers 
and  convicts  within,  and  keep  the  peace  with  sus- 
picious and  crafty  savages  without.  Under  his  rule, 
men  were  hanged  for  theft  and  insubordination,  and 
the  whipping-post  was  in  frequent  requisition.     In 


i8 


I'RENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.     [i5y8. 


:i 


one  case  several  men  were  banished  to  an  island  and 
kept  there  for  some  time  in  fetters. 

Cartier,  after  the  inglorious  ending  of  his  career 
as  a  navigator,  which  had  begun  so  brilliantly,  set- 
tled down  to  a  quiet  life  at  his  country-house  in  the 
suburbs  of  St.  Malo,  which  was  still  standing  a  few 
years  ago. 

More  than  half  a  century  passed  before  the  project 
of  settling  colonies  in  North  America  was  revived. 
France  had  been  torn  ^ay  dissensions  between  the 
Catholics  and  Protestants  ;  eight  civil  wars  were 
waged  during  the  reigns  of  Charles  IX.  and  Henry 
III.,  a  period  of  twenty-eight  years.  But  the  rule 
of  the  moderate  and  tolerant  Henry  IV.  restored 
tranquillity  to  the  kingdom  ;  and  the  spirit  of  ad- 
venture and  discovery  revived.  During  the  inter- 
val, the  fisheries  and  the  fur-trade  had  been  carried 
on  in  the  vicinity  of  Newfoundland  by  Frenchmen 
and  sailors  of  other  nations,  and  had  grown  to  large 
proportions. 

In  1598  the  Marquis  de  la  Roche  received  a  grant 
from  the  King  to  colonize  New  France,  with  sub- 
stantially the  same  title  which  had  been  conferred 
on  Roberval.  By  the  terms  of  this  grant  he  was 
made  an  almost  absolute  monarch,  having  sole 
power  to  raise  troops,  make  war,  build  towns,  give 
laws,  impose  punishments,  and  grant  pardons  ;  but 


1598]     FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED. 


19 


1 


he  was  required  to  keep  in  view  the  establishment  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  The  gains  and  profits 
of  the  first  voyage  were  to  be  divided  into  thirds, 
one  for  him,  one  to  be  distributed  among  his  com- 
panions, and  one  applied  to  the  expenses  of  war, 
fortification,  and  other  common  charges. 

For  the  purpose  of  establishing  this  magnifi- 
cent transatlantic  feudal  viceroyalty,  the  Marquis 
gathered  a  company  from  the  prisons,  and  under  the 
guidance  of  a  skilful  pilot  named  Chedotel,  landed 
at  Sable  Island,  a  desolate  spot  south  of  Cape  Bre- 
ton. Here  De  la  Roche  put  ashore  forty  of  his 
convicts,  and  went  on  to  explore  the  coasts  of 
Acadia,  intending  to  call  for  the  men  on  his  way 
back  ;  but  contrary  winds  prevented  a  landing,  and 
the  wretched  men  were  left  alone  on  the  sandy  and 
barren  island. 

When  they  found  themselves  deserted,  and  the 
last  hope  of  the  vessel's  return  had  died  away,  they 
built  cabins  of  the  wrecks  of  Spanish  vessels.  A 
few  sheep  and  cattle  were  roaming  about  the  island, 
sprung  from  some  that  had  been  on  board  the 
wrecked  ships,  or  left  there  in  a  forgotten  enterprise 
by  the  Baron  de  Lery  ;  and  these,  with  the  fish  they 
caught,  furnished  a  living.  When  their  clothes  were 
gone,  they  dressed  in  sealskin.  So  they  lived  for 
seven  years.     Various  misfortunes  had  assailed  De 


1 


I  ^ 


ll 


20  FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.     [1603. 

la  Roche  when  he  returned  to  France,  and  he  had 
been  unable  to  do  anything  toward  their  release  ; 
but  at  last  Ihe  King  heard  of  them,  and  sent 
Chedotel  to  bring  them  back.  The  forty  men  were 
reduced  to  twelve,  whom  Chedotel  took  to  France 
and  presented  before  the  King  in  the  same  dress  in 
which  he  found  them,  "  covered  with  sealskin,  their 
hair  and  beards  of  a  length  that  made  them  resem- 
ble the  pretended  river-gods,  and  so  disfigured  as  to 
inspire  horror.  The  King  gave  them  fifty  crowns 
apiece,  and  sent  them  home  released  from  all  proc- 
ess of  law. 

After  the  death  of  De  la  Roche,  patents  were 
granted  to  others,  who  used  them  mainly  to  enrich 
themselves  by  trade.  But  in  1603,  the  Sieur  de 
Pontgrav6,  a  merchant  of  St.  Malo,  having  received 
permission  from  the  King  to  continue  discoveries 
in  the  region  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  make  settle- 
ments there,  associated  with  himself  Samuel  de 
Champlain. 

This  great  man  was  destined  to  become  the  real 
founder  of  New  France.  He  was  born  at  Brouage, 
in  Saintonge,  a  department  of  Western  France,  in 
1567.  After  serving  in  the  army  of  Henry  IV.,  he 
had  gone  to  the  West  Indies  as  a  captain  in  the 
Spanish  service,  and  kept  a  journal,  which  he  called 
**  A  Brief  Discourse  of  the  Most  Remarkable  Things 


ll 


i6o3.]    FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED, 


ax 


Seen  by  Samuel  Champlain  of  Brouage,  in  the  West 
Indies."  He  drew  his  own  illustrations  for  it  — 
maps  of  the  coasts,  pictures  of  strange  animals,  and 
Indians  burned  for  rejecting  the  gospel  or  whip- 
ped for  not  going  to  mass.  This  manuscript  is  still 
preserved  at  Dieppe,  and  has  been  published  in  an 
English  translation.  The  accounts  which  he  after- 
ward gave  of  his  adventures  in  the  French  colonies, 
under  the  title,  "  Voyages  in  New  France,"  are  an 
important  source  of  information  regarding  the  early 
history  of  those  colonies. 

Pontgrav6  and  Champlain  ascended  the  river  to 
find  Cartier's  town  of  Hochelaga  ;  but  it  was  gone, 
probably  destroyed  in  some  Indian  war.  The 
rapids  prevented  them  from  going  farther,  and  they 
returned  to  France,  to  find  that  a  new  commission 
had  been  given  to  Pierre  du  Guast,  Sieur  de  Monts, 
of  Saintonge.  This  gentleman  was  a  Protestant, 
but  agreed  to  establish  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
among  the  Indians,  while  his  own  sect  was  to  enjoy 
full  freedom  of  worship.  He  went  out  with  four 
ships,  taking  in  his  own  some  Catholic  priests  and 
some  Huguenot  ministers,  who  edified  the  crew  with 
their  disputes,  even  "  falling  to  with  their  fists  on 
questions  of  faith."  A  Franciscan  friar  who  wrote 
a  history  of  Canada  says  the  crew  buried  in  one 
grave  a  priest  and  a  minister,  who  happened  to  die 


22  FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.    [1604. 


at  about  the  same  time,  to  see  if  they  would  lie 
peaceably  together. 

De  Monts  went  to  Acadia,  and  landed  his  men 
on  the  southern  shore  of  what  is  now  Nova  Scotia, 
and  then  sent  out  Champlain  to  explore  the  coast 
and  find  a  place  for  a  settlement.  He  entered  and 
named  the  harbor  of  Port  Royal,  where  Annapolis 
now  stands,  a  place  which  holds  an  important  posi- 
tion in  the  early  history  of  America.  Crossing  the 
Baye  Fran^oise,  now  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  they  en- 
tered the  St.  John's,  naming  it  in  honor  of  the  saint 
whose  feast  fell  on  that  day,  and  selected  for  the  site 
of  their  colony  an  island  in  St.  Croix  River,  called 
by  them  Isle  St.  Croix,  and  now  known  as  Doucett's 
Island.  The  St.  Croix  they  called  River  of  the 
Etchemins,  from  the  tribe  of  Indians  living  there. 

During  the  winter  Champlain  explored  the  coast 
as  far  as  Cape  Malabar,  taking  possession  of  the 
country  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  France.  Find- 
ing that  the  island  selected  had  been  chosen  un- 
wisely, De  Monts  moved  his  colony  in  the  spring  to 
Port  Royal.  A  settlement  had  already  been  begun 
there  by  his  lieutenant,  De  Poutrincourt,  who  had 
taken  a  fancy  to  the  place,  wished  to  bring  his 
family  and  live  there,  and  had  therefore  obtained  a 
grant  of  Port  Royal  and  the  vicinity  from  De 
Monts. 


i6o5j    FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.  23 

The  next  year  Poutrincourt  brought  from  France 
with  him  Mark  Lescarbot,  an  advocate  from  Paris, 
who  proved  a  great  acquisition  to  the  colony,  being 
quick  and  fertile  in  invention  of  schemes,  and  able 
to  inspire  the  men  with  enthusiasm  for  carrying 
them  out.  He  induced  them  to  plant  fields  and 
construct  roads,  showed  them  how  to  make  fire- 
bricks, and  build  a  furnace  for  clarifying  the  gum  of 
the  fir  and  making  pitch  ;  and  under  his  direction 
they  built  a  watermill  to  take  the  place  of  the  hand- 
mills  they  had  been  using.  The  priests  had  all 
died,  and  Lescarbot  undertook  to  read  and  expound 
the  Scriptures  on  Sundays.  The  supplies  were 
abundant,  and  the  winter  passed  with  plenty  of 
good  cheer  and  fun,  led  by  Lescarbot  and  Cham- 
plain.  Lescarbot  afterward  wrote  a  history  of  New 
France. 

To  their  feasts  the  Micmacs,  or  Souriquois 
Indians  of  Acadia,  were  made  welcome.  These 
Indians  were  firm  and  serviceable  allies  of  the 
French  during  all  the  time  of  their  occupation  of 
the  country  ;  and  their  chief,  an  old  man  named 
Mambertou,  became  a  great  favorite  with  the  set- 
tlers. Lescarbot  wrote  a  poem  commemorating  a 
victory  he  gained  over  the  tribe  of  the  Armou- 
chiquois. 

De  Monts,  who  had  lost  the  privilege  given  him 


(•   I 


24 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.    [1607. 


of  carrying  on  the  fur-trade  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
others,  succeeded  in  getting  it  restored,  on  condition 
that  he  plant  a  settlement  on  the  St.  Lawrence. 
He  therefore  removed  his  men  and  supplies,  and 
Champlain  went  with  him,  leaving  Port  Royal  to 
Poutrincourt,  who  had  obtained  a  confirmation  of 
his  grant  of  the  place  from  the  King.  At  the  same 
time  the  King  notified  him  that  something  must 
now  be  done  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  ;  and 
the  King's  confessor,  Father  Cotton,  being  directed 
to  choose  some  Jesuit  fathers  to  go  over  and  oegin 
the  work,  selected  two,  Pierre  Biard  and  Enemond 
Masse. 

But  Poutrincourt  was  unwilling  to  take  the  fathers 
over.  Some  historians  have  supposed  that  both  he 
and  Lescarbot  were  secretly  Protestants  ;  but  it  is 
more  probable  that  they  merely  shared  the  prejudice 
against  the  Jesuits  as  extremists  in  the  Church  and 
secret  friends  of  Spain,  which  was  not  uncommon 
among  good  Catholics  in  France  at  the  time. 
Poutrincourt  gave  Father  Cotton  to  understand 
that  he  should  soon  embark  at  Bordeaux.  Thither 
Father  Biard  repaired,  and  waited  a  whole  year,  but 
there  were  no  signs  of  departure.  The  Jesuits  com- 
plained to  the  King,  and  the  King  sharply  rebuked 
Poutrincourt,  who  promised  to  go  at  once,  and 
made  his  preparations  ;  but  at  the  last  moment  he 


i6to]    FRENCH  SETTLEAfENTS  DESTROYED. 


n 


begg^ed  Father  Cotton  to  let  the  missionaries  wait 
until  another  year,  that  the  colony  might  be  in  a 
better  condition  to  receive  them.  Father  Cotton 
let  the  matter  go  ;  and  Poutrincourt  sailed.  When 
he  arrived  at  Port  Royal,  wishing  to  show  the 
King  that  America  could  be  Christianized  without 
the  Jesuits,  he  began  to  gather  in  the  Indians  for 
religious  instruction  ;  he  had  with  him  a  priest 
named  La  Fleche.  Old  Mambertou  was  the  first 
convert,  and  others  followed  so  rapidly  that  in  a 
few  weeks  Poutrincourt  war  ready  to  send  over  to 
the  King  a  list  of  twenty-five  Indians  who  had  been 
baptized  into  the  Church.  Mambertou  received  in 
baptism  the  name  of  the  King,  members  of  his 
household  were  called  after  the  royal  family,  and 
the  lesser  Indians  after  other  titled  personages  at 
the  French  Court. 

The  list  was  taken  over  by  Poutrincourt's  son, 
Biencourt.  But  Henry  IV.  had  fallen  by  the  knife 
of  an  assassin,  and  Biencourt  gave  it  to  the  Queen 
regent,  supposing  the  matter  of  sending  the  Jesuits 
would  not  be  pressed  any  farther.  But  they  had 
succeeded  in  interesting  in  their  favor  the  Marchion- 
ess de  Guercheville,  a  woman  ol  great  energy,  enthu- 
siasm, and  devotion  to  the  Church,  who  assumed  the 
role  of  patroness  of  the  mission  to  the  Indians,  and 
collected  money  for  building  and  furnishing  a  chapel. 


n 


1 


f6 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.     [1611. 


li 


Two  Huguenots  who  were  associated  with  Bien- 
court  refused  to  let  the  Jesuits  go  ;  but  Madame 
de  Guercheville  raised  money  at  court  and  bought 
them  out.  Then  she  purchased  from  De  Monts  all 
of  his  claim  under  the  grant  of  Henry  IV.,  which 
had  now  been  revoked,  intending  to  get  it  renew- 
ed ;  and  she  did  afterward  receive  a  royal  patent  for 
all  of  North  America  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to 
Florida,  excepting  Port  Royal,  which  had  been 
given  to  Poutrincourt.  She  made  a  contract  with 
Biencourt  by  which  the  missionaries  were  to  be  sup- 
ported from  the  proceeds  of  the  fisheries  and  the 
fur-trade. 

The  missionaries  at  length  reached  Port  Royal, 
in  June,  161 1  ;    but  there   was  never  a  very  good 
understanding  between  them  and  Poutrincourt,  who 
resented  the  Jesuits*  interference  with  what  he  con- 
sidered his  own  province.     Lescarbot   reports  him 
as  saying  to  Biard,    "  I   with  my  sword,    Father, 
have  hopes  of  Paradise,  and  you  with   your  brev- 
iary.    Show  me  my  way  to  heaven,  and  I  will  show 
you  yours  on  earth." 

The  missionaries  were  anxious  to  learn  the  Indian 
language  ;  but  those  of  the  French  who  could  have 
helped  them  would  not.  Old  Mambertou,  however, 
came  to  them  for  instruction  in  Christian  doctrine, 
and  helped  them  to  some   knowledge  of  his  lan- 


'■'1 


i6ii.]    FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.  %1 


guage,  though  he  did  not  live  long  after  their  ar- 
rival. Biard,  to  show  how  the  Indians  had  been 
taught  by  Father  La  Fleche,  reported  that  when  he 
was  teaching  him  the  Lord's  Prayer,  Mambertou 
objected  to  the  petition  for  daily  bread,  saying,  "  If 
I  only  ask  for  bread,  I  shall  get  no  fish  nor  moose- 
meat." 

The  story  of  Mambertou 's  death  is  interesting. 
Father  Masse  took  him  to  his  own  house  when  he 
fell  ill  ;  but  care  and  remedies  were  of  no  avail. 
Mambertou  saw  that  he  must  die,  called  for  the  last 
sacraments,  and  exacted  a  promise  from  Biencourt 
that  he  should  be  buried  with  his  own  people. 
Father  Biard  said  it  could  not  be  allowed  ;  for  to 
bury  the  chief  in  heathen  ground  would  be  a 
stumbling-block  to  the  Indians.  Biencourt  urged 
his  promise,  and  said  the  father  had  only  to  bless 
the  spot  where  the  chief  should  be  laid.  The  mis- 
sionary replied  that  this  could  not  be  done  unless 
all  the  pagan  bodies  were  first  removed  ;  and  that, 
of  course,  was  out  of  the  question.  But  Mamber- 
tou was  obstinate,  and  Biard  declared  he  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  funeral.  The  terrors  of  the 
world  to  come  and  the  firmness  of  the  Jesuit  at  last 
prevailed  ;  Mambertou  gave  way,  died  with  the  con- 
solations of  the  Church,  and  received  Christian 
burial. 


38 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.     [i6i2. 


1 


) 


The  Jesuits  made  some  farther  attempts  to  bring 
the  savages  into  the  fold  of  the  Church.  Biard 
went  to  visit  the  Kinibequi,  or  Kennebecs,  and 
other  Indians  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Maine, 
in  company  with  Biencourt  ;  and  Father  Masse 
made  an  expedition  with  Louis,  the  son  of  Mamber- 
tou,  from  which  he  came  back  worn  with  sickness 
and  hardship.  But  the  commandant  and  his  son 
treated  their  Jesuits  grudgingly  ;  the  colony  was 
growing  feeble,  depending  on  supplies  from  France 
and  help  from  the  Indians,  and  neglecting  the  care 
of  the  soil. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Jesuits,  in  concert  with 
Madame  de  Guercheville,  made  it  uncomfortable  for 
Poutrincourt  in  France.  His  funds  were  'iming 
low,  and  the  colony  was  a  constant  drain  upon 
them.  He  was  forced  to  admit  Madame  de  Guerche- 
ville as  a  partner,  in  order  to  get  aid  for  Port 
Royal.  She  sent  over  another  Jesuit,  a  lay-brother, 
Gilbert  Du  Thet.  But  quarrels  ensued  at  the  col- 
ony ;  Du  Thet  was  sent  back  ;  and  M^lame  de 
Guercheville,  who  by  this  time  had  received  her 
grant  of  the  greater  part  of  North  America,  deter- 
mined to  b»-gin  a  new  settlement. 

She  therefore  sent  out  a  vessel  in  the  spring  of 
1613,  under  the  command  of  the  Sieur  de  la 
Saussaye,  who,  stopping  at  Port   Royal,  took  on 


i6i3.]    FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED. 


29 


board  the  two  Jesuits,  and  sailing  on  began  a  set- 
tlement on  Mount  Desert  Island,  which  was  named 
St.  Saviour. 

But  the  colony  was  destined  to  be  short  lived. 
Samuel  Argall,  a  piratical  adventurer  of  Virginia, 
set  out  for  a  fishing  excursion  off  the  coast  of 
Maine.  On  his  way,  he  heard  of  the  new  settle- 
ment from  the  Indians,  and  resolved  to  drive  away 
the  French,  on  the  strength  of  patents  from  the 
English  King  giving  to  the  London  and  Plymouth 
Company  the  control  of  North  America  up  to  lati- 
tude 45°  N.  After  a  short  engagement,  in  which 
Brother  Du  Thet  valiantly  fired  off  a  cannon  which 
he  forgot  to  aim,  and  soon  after  fell  mortally 
wounded,  La  Saussaye  surrendered. 

Argall  took  possession,  cut  down  the  cros:-  the 
Jesuits  had  raised,  and,  searching  the  baggage  of  La 
Saussaye,  found  and  stole  his  commission.  The 
next  day  he  asked  Saussaye  to  show  his  commission, 
sa3nng  that  he  should  respect  the  authority  of  the 
French  King,  although  the  country  belonged  to  the 
English.  La  Saussaye,  of  course,  could  not  find 
the  commission  ;  whereupon  Argall  denounced  him 
as  a  pirate,  and  gave  up  the  French  ship  and  the 
houses  of  St.  Saviour  to  be  plundered  by  his  men. 

After  this  he  treated  the  colonists  more  mildly. 
He  offered  them  a  small  bark  to  take  them  home  to 


3©  FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.     [1613. 


■  M 


France  ;  but  it  would  not  hold  them  all.  Fifteen 
enibarked  in  it,  including  the  commandant  and 
Father  Enemond  Masse,  who  went  to  look  after 
their  spiritual  interests.  At  first  they  had  no  pilot ; 
but  in  a  day  or  two,  as  they  were  coasting  along, 
they  found  thoir  pilot,  who  had  fled  from  the  Eng- 
lish to  the  woods,  and  took  him  in.  Near  Port  de 
la  Heve,  on  the  southern  shore  of  Acadia,  they  met 
two  French  ships,  which  took  them  safely  to  St. 
Malo. 

The  rest  of  the  French  prisoners  were  induced  by 
Argall  to  go  with  him  to  Virginia.  He  promised 
that  they  should  be  treated  well,  allowed  the  free 
exercise  of  their  religion,  and  be  sent  to  France  in  a 
year  if  they  cared  to  go.  But  when  tl.ey  reached 
Jamestown,  where  Sir  Thomas  Dale  was  acting  as 
Governor,  Dale  declared  that  they  should  all  be 
hanged  as  pirates.  Argall  tried  to  protect  them, 
pleading  the  terms  of  the  surrender  and  the  promises 
by  which  he  had  induced  them  to  come  to  Virginia  ; 
but  Dale  would  not  relent  ;  he  said  they  had  been 
trespassing  on  English  territory  without  authority, 
and  they  deserved  the  fate  of  pirates.  Seeing  no 
other  way  of  saving  them,  Argall  was  obliged  to 
produce  the  stolen  commission  of  La  Saussaye  and 
confess  his  baseness.  Sir  Thomas  was  compelled 
to  give  up  at   sight  of  the   commission  from  the 


I6i3.]    FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED. 


31 


French    King,  but  he   declared    that    the    French 
should  be  driven  out  of  Acadia. 

This  he  at  once  made  preparations  to  do,  though 
that  part  of  the  continent  was  included  in  the  grant 
made  by  the  English  King  to  the  Plymouth  Company, 
while  Virginia  was  under  the  control  of  the  London 
Company  ;  so  that  the  Virginians  had  no  claim 
whatever  to  interfere  with  the  French  in  Acadia. 
He  fitted  out  three  ships,  and  gave  the  command  to 
Argall.  Biard  and  Quentin,  the  Jesuits  who  had 
gone  with  Argall  to  Virginia,  went  with  them,  as 
did  several  others  of  the  Frenchmen.  They  sailed 
first  to  St.  Saviour,  and  destroyed  all  they  had  left 
at  their  previous  visit.  Next  they  went  to  the 
island  of  St.  Croix,  where  De  Monts  had  had  his 
colony,  and  razed  the  deserted  buildings.  Then 
they  crossed  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  Port  Royal, 
guided,  it  is  supposed,  by  Father  Biard,  who  saw 
an  opportunity  to  be  revenged  on  Poutrincourt's 
colony. 

Biencourt,  who  was  in  command,  was  absent 
among  the  Indians.  But  supplies  had  lately  been 
sent  from  France,  and  these  the  invaders  had  the » 
satisfaction  of  seizing  or  destroying  by  fire.  "  And 
please  God,"  says  Biard,  in  his  story  of  it,  "  that 
the  sins  committed  there  may  have  been  also  con- 
sumed."    They  cut  off  the  arms  of  France  and  the 


Ik,  I 


! 


33 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.     [1613. 


names  of  the  founders  of  the  colony,  which  had 
been  cut  in  a  large  stone  standing  in  the  fort,  and 
left  the  fort  itself  in  ruins.  Sailing  up  the  river, 
they  saw  the  fields  and  mills  where  the  men  were  at 
work.  Biard,  it  is  said,  tried  to  induce  some  of 
them  to  leave  Biencourt  and  serve  under  Argall. 
But  they  rejected  the  treacherous  suggestion  with 
scorn,  and  one  of  them  threatened  to  split  the  holy 
father's  head  open  with  a  hatchet  if  he  dared  to 
make  another  of  the  kind. 

Biencourt  tried  to  make  an  agreement  with  Argall 
to  divide  the  trade  of  the  country  ;  but  Argall  re- 
fused to  consider  him  in  any  light  but  that  of  an  in- 
truder on  the  territory  of  King  James.  Biencourt 
also  asked  the  surrender  of  Biard,  to  whose  treach- 
ery he  attributed  all  the  misfortunes  of  Port  Royal ; 
and  the  Jesuit,  who  was  looked  on  with  almost  as 
much  distrust  by  the  English,  was  in  a  dangerous 
position.  His  own  account  says  he  was  saved  by 
his  display  of  humanity  and  his  forgiving  spirit. 
"  He  put  himself  on  his  knees  before  the  captain  at 
two  different  times  and  on  two  occasions,  to  pray 
for  pity  toward  the  French  at  Port  Royal,  to  per- 
suade him  to  leave  them  some  provisions,  their 
sloop,  and  some  other  means  of  passing  the  winter. 
And  see  what  contrasting  petitions  were  made  to 
the  captain  ;  for  at  the  same  time  when  Father  Biard 


i6i3.]     FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED. 

was  thus  interceding  for  the  French,  a  Frenchman 
was  crying  out  from  afar,  with  abuse  and  accusation, 
that  the  Father  ought  to  be  butchered.  Now  Ar- 
gall,  who  has  a  noble  heart,  seeing  the  Jesuit's  sin- 
cere affection,  and  the  beastly  inhumanity  of  that 
Frenchman,  refused  to  listen  to  the  accusations." 

After  the  destruction  of  Port  Royal,  the  French 
colonists  were  scattered.  Some  went  to  the  settle- 
ments on  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  but  most  of  them 
spent  a  miserable  winter,  roaming  in  the  woods  and 
getting  what  help  they  could  from  the  savages. 
Poutrincourt  gave  up  all  hope  of  the  colony  ;  and 
in  1615  he  was  killed  in  a  civil  conflict  in  his  own 
country.  His  son,  with  some  few  companions, 
among  whom  was  Charles  de  la  Tour,  spent  his  life 
in  Acadia  and  made  efforts  to  rebuild  Port  Royal. 

Argall  sailed  again  for  Virginia,  taking  back  with 
him  the  Frenchmen  of  St.  Saviour.  But  he  encoun- 
tered a  storm  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  voyage, 
and  one  of  the  three  ships  was  lost  ;  Argall's  own 
reached  Jamestown  in  safety,  but  the  one  having 
the  Jesuits  on  board  was  driven  northward  and  then 
to  the  Azores,  where  it  put  into  port  at  Fayal.  It 
was  a  fortunate  storm  for  Father  Biard  ;  the  ship 
carried  a  formal  accusation  from  the  Port  Royal 
men  to  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  against  the  Jesuit  ;  and 
the  Governor,  as  Biard  says,  "  was  waiting  to  cut 


34  FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  DESTROYED.     [1614. 


I    i: 


off  his  voyages  by  showing  him  the  end  of  the  world 
from  the  top  of  the  gallows." 

The  ship,  which  was  the  one  taken  from  La 
Saussaye  in  Argall's  first  expedition,  and  was  now 
commanded  by  Turnell,  the  lieutenant  of  Argall, 
was  in  some  danger  from  the  Portuguese  at  Fayal, 
where  it  came  to  port  ;  the  officers  were  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Jesuits,  who  had  only  to  accuse  them 
as  pirates.  But  Biard  and  Quentin  promised  the 
master  of  the  ship  that  they  would  lie  hidden  while 
in  port,  a  promise  which  Biard  claims  great  credit 
for  keeping. 

When  the  ship  arrived  in  England,  Turnell  was 
put  into  prison  on  suspicion  of  being  a  pirate.  He 
had  no  papers  to  explain  his  position,  and  appear- 
ances were  against  him  ;  he  was  in  possession  of  a 
French  ship  ;  and  he  was  only  released  on  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Jesuits.  After  spending  some  time  in 
England,  Fathers  Biard  and  Quentin  were  claimed 
by  the  French  ambassador  and  sent  home.  La 
Saussaye  and  his  companions  were  at  length  shipped 
from  Virginia  to  England,  and  in  the  end  reached 
their  own  country.  Madame  de  Guercheville  sent 
La  Saussaye  to  demand  reparation  in  London  ;  but 
she  seems  to  have  succeeded  only  in  getting  her  ship 
restored.  This  was  the  end  of  the  first  serious 
attempt  at  French  settlement  in  Canada. 


CHAPTER  III. 

QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND  TAKEN  BY  THE  ENGLISH. 

Founding  of  Quebec — Friendship  with  the  Algonquins — Expeditions 
against  the  Ir^uois — Story  of  De  Vignan — Introduction  of  Priests 
— Hostile  Attempt  of  the  Iroquois — Grant  of  Acadia  to  Sir  William 
Alexander — Religious  Troubles  in  France — Capture  of  Quebec  by 
Kirk — The  La  Tours  in  Acadia — Treaty  of  Germain-en-Laye — 
Death  of  Champlain. 

According  to  the  terms  of  his  grant,  which  re- 
quired him  to  make  a  settlement  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence, De  Monts  sent  Champlain  to  select  a  site  and 
begin  the  work  of  building  a  town.  Arriving  at  the 
spot  where  Cartier,  more  than  seventy  years  before, 
had  found  Stadacon6,  the  capital  of  Donnacona, 
Champlain  selected  the  same  site  for  his  settlement, 
and  resolved  to  build  a  town  on  the  promontory  just 
where  the  Indian  town  had  stood.  All  traces  of 
Stadacon6  had  now  disappeared.  The  Indians  called 
this  part  of  the  river  Quebec,  signifying  "a  narrow- 
ing in,"  or  a  strait,  the  river  here  being  only  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  in  width. 

The  history  of  Quebec  has  justified  the  sagacity 
of  Champlain's  choice.  Rising  three  hundred  feet 
above  the  river,  the  steep  wall  of  rock  forms  a 
natural  stronghold  and  commands  the  stream  below. 


tl 


11 


i  1 


36 


QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND 


[1608. 


W: 


m 


V 


\\ 


L, 


Here,  in  July,  1608,  Champlain  began  preparations  for 
the  oldest  permanent  settlement  in  North  America, 
except  the  one  at  Jamestown,  Virginia,  which  dates 
from  1607.  Having  first  put  up  some  rude  barracks 
for  temporary  shelter,  the  men  made  an  embankment 
along  the  present  line  of  Mountain  Street.  Then 
they  built  a  wooden  wall  with  openings  for  defence, 
and  within  the  wall  three  houses.  Outside  the  wall 
they  dug  a  moat. 

During  the  winter  Champlain  took  care  to  gain  the 
friendship  of  the  neighboring  Indians.  The  sup- 
plies at  the  fort  were  abundant,  and  were  freely 
divided  with  the  famishing  savages,  who  were  ac- 
customed to  make  very  slight  provision  for  winter. 
The  Indians  of  the  St.  Lawrence  belonged  to  the 
great  family  of  the  Algonquins,  whose  various  tribes 
were  scattered  over  Canada,  New  Brunswick,  Nova 
Scotia,  the  New  England  and  Middle  States,  except 
New  York,  and  parts  of  Virginia,  Michigan,  Wiscon- 
sin, Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Kentucky. 

Their  deadly  enemies  were  the  Iroquois,  or  Five 
Nations,  including  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onon- 
dagas,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas,  who  lived  in  New 
York.  In  171 5  the  league  of  the  Iroquois  was  joined 
by  the  Tuscaroras  of  Carolina,  and  nence  they  are 
often  mentioned  in  history  as  the  Six  Nations.  The 
Hurons  and  Eries  lay  near  the  lakes  which  bear  their 


1609.] 


TAKEN  BY   THE  ENGLISH. 


37 


names.  At  this  time  the  Hurons  were  in  league 
against  their  kindred,  the  Iroquois,  with  the  Algon- 
quins  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

These  Indians  had  great  hopes  of  the  alliance  of  ^ 
the  French  in  their  warfare  against  the  powerful 
league  of  the  Iroquois  ;  and  in  the  spring  of  1609 
they  asked  Champlain  to  join  them  in  an  expedition 
to  the  Mohawk  country.  Satisfied  that  his  best 
policy  lay  in  the  alliance  with  the  Algonquin  tribes, 
and  anxious  to  penetrate  farther  into  the  r^reat  un- 
known region  at  the  west,  in  the  hope  of  finding 
some  clue  to  the  passage  to  the  East  Indies,  which 
was  the  dream  of  all  the  early  voyagers,  Champlain 
joined  them  with  eleven  other  Frenchmen.  This 
began  an  enmity  between  the  French  and  those 
fierce  and  powerful  tribes,  which  lasted  for  more 
than  a  century  and  a  half. 

The  Indians  assured  Champlain  that  there  was  no 
obstruction  along  the  water  route  they  intended  to  • 
take,  and  he  therefore  embarked  in  a  shallop,  while 
they  took  to  their  canoes.  They  ascended  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  Sorel  or  Richelieu,  ivhich  they 
called  the  River  of  the  Iroquois.  Hearing  at  length 
the  noise  of  rushing  water,  Champlain  left  some  of  his 
men  in  charge  of  the  shallop  and,  pushing  on  through 
the  woods,  came  to  the  Chambly  Rapid.  Unwilling 
to  abandon  the  undertaking,  he  told  the  Indians  that, 


38 


QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND 


I1609. 


I 


notwithstanding  their  deception,  he  would  keep  his 
promise  and  go  on  with  them.  He  sent  back  the 
shallop  with  all  his  men  but  two,  who  refused  to 
leave  him  ;  and  the  Indians  shouldered  their  light 
canoes,  walked  through  the  woods  past  the  rapid, 
and  embarked  on  the  stream  above. 

At  night  they  made  an  encampment,  protecting 
themselves  on  the  land  side  by  a  strong  abatis  of 
trees,  and  arranging  the  canoes  so  that  in  case  of  a 
surprise  they  could  embark  with  ease  and  celerity. 
Then  they  all  went  to  sleep  without  sentinels, 
answering  Champlain's  remonstrances  by  saying  that 
those  who  labored  all  day  needed  rest  at  night. 

Proceeding  up  the  river,  they  entered  the  lake  of 
which  it  is  the  outlet.  To  the  east  and  southeast 
lay  the  rolling  summits  of  the  Green  Mountains  ;  to 
the  west  rose  the  Adirondacks,  covered  with  silent 
woods,  but  suggestive  of  lurking  and  stealthy  war- 
riors of  the  dreaded  nations.  To  the  beautiful  sheet 
of  water,  Champlain,  first  of  white  men  to  look  upon 
it,  gave  his  own  name.  The  islands  abounded  in 
deer,  and  the  beavers  worked  in  peace,  for  huntets 
were  afraid  to  pursue  their  game  so  near  the  haunts 
of  the  terrible  Iroquois.  The  Algonquins  dared  no 
longer  advance  by  day ;  they  paddled  their  canoes 
at  night,  and  rested  hidden  while  the  sun  was  up. 

They  had  told  Champlain  of  another  rapid  beyond 


l6o9.] 


TAKEN  BY   THE  ENGLISH. 


39 


the  lake,  and  another  lake  beyond  that  rapid — Lake 
George  now — and  they  intended  to  go  to  it.  But 
one  evening  when  they  were  paddling  silently  up  the 
lake  at  about  ten  o'clock,  another  silent  fleet  of 
canoes  suddenly  appeared  on  the  water  in  front  of 
them.  It  was  the  Iroquois.  Both  parties  took  to 
the  shore  and  began  to  fortify  themselves.  Then 
the  Algonquins  sent  to  ask  the  Iroquois  whether 
they  would  fight  immediately.  The  answer  was  that 
it  was  too  dark  ;  and  they  all  danced  and  sang  and 
shouted  boasts  and  threats  at  each  other  through 
the  night. 

In  the  morning  they  prepared  for  battle.  The  Iro- 
quois, about  two  hundred  strong,  marched  through 
the  forest  under  command  of  three  chiefs,  distin- 
guished by  the  height  of  the  birds'  feathers  they 
wore.  Some  had  shields  of  wood  or  leather,  and 
some  had  coats  of  mail  made  of  woven  twigs  and 
cords.  The  Algonquins  and  Hurons  issued  from 
their  defences  and  ran  forward  two  hundred  paces. 
When  they  were  before  the  enemy  they  halted  and 
separated  into  two  divisions,  leaving  a  space  in  the 
centre  for  the  three  Frenchmen.  The  Iroquois 
looked  in  wonder  at  the  strange  figure  of  Champlain, 
clad  in  glittering  steel,  surmounted  by  a  plumed 
helmet.  Then  they  moved  to  begin  the  attack.  He 
aimed  his  arquebuse,  into  which  he  had  loaded  four 


40 


QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND 


[1609. 


Bl'i 


balls,  and  fired  ;  two  of  the  chiefs  fell  dead,  and  the 
third  was  dangerously  wounded.  Then  the  allies 
raised  a  deafening  cry  and  followed  up  the  charge 
with  a  shower  of  arrows. 

The  Iroquois  stood  firm  at  fi**"*-  and  returned  the 
charge  ;  but  as  Champlain  was  1  .ing  to  fire  again, 
his  companions  discharged  their  pieces,  by  which  the 
frightened  Iroquois  were  thrown  into  a  panic,  and 
fled  in  disorder.  The  allies  pursued  them  a  short 
distance,  took  some  prisoners,  and  brought  away  the 
supplies  of  the  enemy,  of  which  they  were  sadly  in 
need.  On  their  way  back  they  halted  and  brought 
out  one  of  the  prisoners  for  torture.  Disgusted  with 
their  horrible  ingenuity,  Cha.nplain  remonstrated, 
for  some  time  without  effect ;  '  at  length  he  got 
leave  to  end  the  sufferings  of  lUv.  poor  wretch  by  a 
shot  from  his  arquebuse. 

One  of  the  Indians  dreamed  the  following  night 
that  the  Iroquois  were  in  pursuit.  Not  doubting 
the  omen,  the  allies  took  to  flight,  only  halting  when 
they  reached  the  islands  above  Lake  St.  Peter,  where 
they  hid  themselves  for  the  night.  At  Quebec  they 
separated,  assuring  Champlain  that  they  should  want 
his  help  in  future  wars. 

When  he  returned  from  France  the  next  spring, 
they  were  waiting  for  him.  Another  journey  up  the 
St.  Lawrence  to  the  Sorel,  another  wild  engagement, 


Hi 
i 

i 


l6io.] 


TAKEN  BY  THE  ENGLISH. 


41 


in  which  Champlain  was  slightly  wounded  by  an 
arrow,  another  defeat  of  the  Iroquois,  through  their 
fright  at  the  strange  and  deadly  weapons  of  the 
white  men,  and  Champlain  was  again  a  hero  with 
the  Algonquins.  They  gave  him  one  of  their 
prisoners,  and  the  Hurons  consented  to  take  home 
with  them  a  Frenchman  that  he  might  learn  their 
language,  on  condition  that  Champlain  should  take 
with  him  to  France  a  young  Huron,  who  should 
bring  back  to  them  a  trustworthy  account  of  the 
country  of  their  white  allies,  as  seen  through  Huron 
eyes. 

In  1611  Champlain  attempted  to  establish  a  trad- 
ing-post at  Montreal,  and  had  a  site  cleared  ;  but  the 
settlement  did  not  thrive.  In  161 3,  he  went  there, 
accoi  panied  by  a  young  man  named  Nicholas  de 
Vigna  who  had  drawn  considerable  attention  to 
himselt  m  France,  by  stories  of  his  adventures.  He 
professed  to  have  ascended  the  Ottawa  River  to  a 
great  lake  from  which  it  flowed  ;  having  crossed  the 
lake,  he  said,  he  discovered  another  river  leading  to 
the  North  Sea ;  at  the  mouth  of  that  river  he  saw 
the  wreck  of  an  English  vessel,  whose  crew  had 
been  killed  by  the  Indians.  All  this  was  told  with 
so  much  detail  and  apparent  honesty,  that  Cham- 
plain was  deceived — the  more  easily  as  rumor  said 
that  Hendrick  Hudson,  during  the  voyage  in  which 


if- 


42 


QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND 


[1613. 


I 


he  discovered  the  bay  that  bears  his  name,  had  been 
put  into  a  boat  with  eight  others,  and  abandoned  by 
his  mutinous  crew.  Not  doubting-  that  the  wreck 
was  Hudson's  vessel,  Champlain  resolved  to  ascend 
the  Ottawa  without  delay,  believing  that  he  should 
find  the  long-sought  northwest  passage. 

With  Nicholas  de  Vignan,  three  other  French- 
men, and  an  Indian,  he  toiled  up  the  river,  in  canoes, 
which  had  to  be  carried  past  the  rapids  and  falls 
through  the  tangled  forest,  until  they  reached  the 
Isle  des  Allumettes.  Here  was  the  home  of  the 
Ottawas,  many  of  whom  had  been  down  to  Montreal 
for  trade  and  war,  and  were  known  to  Champlain. 
They  received  him  with  kindness ;  but  when  he 
asked  for  help  to  continue  his  journey  to  Lake 
Nipissing,  they  told  dreadful  stories  of  the  mean- 
ness, treachery,  and  sorceries  of  the  tribe  of  the 
Nipissings. 

Champlain  said  his  companion,  De  Vignan,  had 
been  there,  and  had  come  back  in  safety.  The 
Indians  were  greatly  astonished  at  this,  and  plumply 
called  Nicholas  a  liar. 

"Nicholas,"  said  the  chief,  "is  it  true  that  you 
said  you  had  been  to  the  Nipissings  ?" 

Nicholas  was  silent  for  a  time,  then  said  in  their 
language,  of  which  he  had  some  knowledge,  "Yes, 
I  have  been  there." 


i6i3.] 


TAKEN  BY   THE  ENGLISH. 


43 


*'You  are  an  impudent  liar,"  said  the  chief. 
"You  know  very  well  that  you  went  to  bed  here 
every  night  with  my  children  and  got  up  every 
morning  ;  if  you  went  to  those  people,  it  must  have 
been  in  your  sleep." 

Champlain  took  Nicholas  aside,  and  conjured  him 
to  tell  the  truth.  Nicholas  swore  that  all  he  had 
said  was  true.  Champlain  then  told  the  Indians  De 
Vignan's  whole  story — of  the  lake,  and  the  river  to 
the  North  Sea,  and  the  wrecked  ship — all  of  which 
the  Indians  insisted  were  outright  lies.  In  great 
perplexity  Champlain  took  De  Vignan  aside  again, 
and  promised  if  he  would  now  tell  the  truth  to  for- 
give what  was  past ;  but  threatened  that  if  he  should 
be  found  out  in  a  deception,  he  should  be  hanged 
without  delay. 

Nicholas  thought  it  over,  and  then  confessed. 
He  had  not  expected  that  Champlain  would  have 
the  perseverance  to  go  so  far  as  to  discover  the 
truth ;  and  he  was  anxious  to  enjoy  the  glory 
of  the  discovery.  Champlain  was  so  enraged  he 
could  scarcely  endure  the  sight  of  him  ;  but  he 
kept  his  word,  protected  De  Vignan  from  the  In- 
dians, who  officiously  offered  to  despatch  the  liar 
for  him,  and  let  him  return  to  Montreal  and  go  on 
his  way. 

On  his  next  visit  to  France,  Champlain,  who  was  a 


i .  I 


urr- 


44 


QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND 


[1614. 


If 


man  of  sincere  piety,  and  is  recorded  to  have  fre- 
quently said  that  the  salvation  of  one  soul  was  of 
more  value  than  the  conquest  of  an  empire,  obtained 
four  Recollect  missionaries  to  return  with  him,  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  colony  and  the  conversion  of 
the  Indians.  One  of  them,  Father  le  Caron,  who 
was  assigned  to  the  mission  among  the  Hurons, 
went  to  Montreal  with  Champlain.  There  they 
found  the  Indians  assembled  for  the  fur-trade,  and 
anxious  to  get  the  help  of  the  French  in  another 
expedition  against  the  Iroquois.  Champlain  prom- 
ised it,  and  went  to  Quebec  to  get  ready.  The 
Indians,  impatient  of  the  delay,  set  out  for  their 
homes  to  collect  their  warriors,  and  Le  Caron  and 
twelve  other  Frenchmen  went  with  them. 

Finding  them  gone,  on  his  return  to  Montreal, 
Champlain  set  out  to  follow  them.  Passing  up  the 
Ottawa  and  the  Mattawan^  he  crossed  to  Lake 
Nipissing,  which  he  traversed,  and  entering  the 
French  River  reached  the  Georgian  Bay.  He 
coasted  along  its  eastern  shore  southward,  and 
thence  went  overland  to  the  Huron  villages.  In 
one  of  them  he  found  the  zealous  Recollect,  whose 
ardor  had  been  kindled  by  the  sight  of  so  many 
heathen,  and  who  wrote  to  a  friend,  '*  Alas,  when  one 
sees  such  a  vast  number  of  infidels,  needing  but  a 
drop  of  water  to  make  them  children  of  God,  what 


w? 


1613.] 


TAKEN  BY   THE  ENGLISH. 


45 


zeal  he  feels  to  work   for  their  conversion  and  to 
sacnfice  for  it  his  repose  and  his  life  !" 

The  Indians  had  built  him  a  chapel  of  bark,  and 
the  priest  had  raised  within  it  an  altar  with  the 
sacred  images  and  the  candles  ;  and  after  Cham- 
plain's  arrival,  the  first  mass  was  said  in  the  little 
chapel,  and  the  missionary  work  among  the  Hurons 
was  begun. 

When   the   war   parties  of  the  Indians  were  all 
gathered,    they   made  their  journey  to  the  south- 
east,  by  way  of  Lake  Simcoe,   the  Talbot  River, 
Balsam  Lake,  and  the  rivers  Otonabec  and  Trent, 
to  Lake  Ontario,  and  crossed  to  New  York,  land- 
ing somewhere  near  the  site  of  Sackett's  Harbor. 
Concealing    their   canoes,    they   struck    southward, 
were  soon  among  the  Iroquois,  and  attacked  some 
small  parties  whom   they  found  in  the  woods  and 
fields.      The    Iroquois    took    refuge    in    a    fortified 
town,  probably  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Onon- 
daga. 

The  defences  consisted  of  a  kind  of  fort  sur- 
rounded by  an  abatis  of  trees  thirty  feet  high,  which 
supported  a  gallery  where  great  quantities  of  stones 
were  kept,  to  be  hurled  down  on  assailants.  The 
Hurons  were  repelled  at  their  first  attempt  to  take 
the  fort.  Then  they  set  fire  to  the  abatis ;  but  the 
Iroquois    had  provided  against  fire  by  conducting 


~ 


46 


QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND 


[1622. 


|1i 
1:  i 


water  within  the  walls  from  a  pond  outside,  and  the 
flame  was  soon  extinguished.  Unable  to  control 
the  Hurons,  Champlain  was  obliged  to  let  them 
carry  on  the  attack  in  their  own  way  ;  and  after  three 
hours  of  fighting  they  retired  discomfited.  Cham- 
plain,  although  wounded,  favored  renewing  the  at- 
tack ;  but  the  Indians  insisted  on  waiting  for  some 
promised  reenforcements.  As  these  did  not  arrive, 
the  Hurons  retreated  after  five  days,  and  returned 
to  their  own  country.  Their  confidence  in  Cham- 
plain  was  lost ;  they  had  supposed  that  his  presence 
and  the  use  of  the  fire-arms  would  always  give 
them  an  easy  victory.  Sulky  and  disappointed, 
they  refused  to  keep  their  agreement  to  send  him 
back  to  Quebec  ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  spend  the 
winter  among  the  Hurons. 

In  1622,  the  Iroquois  attempted  to  exterminate 
the  French,  in  retaliation  for  the  help  given  to  the 
Algonquins.  One  party  attacked  some  Frenchmen 
who  were  at  the  passage  of  the  St.  Louis  Sault,  or 
Rapid,  and  were  repelled  with  loss.  Another  party 
went  down  to  Quebec  and  besieged  the  convent 
which  had  been  built  for  the  Recollect  Fathers  on 
the  St.  Charles.  But  the  fathers  had  a  little  fort ; 
and,  by  means  of  prayers  within  and  balls  without, 
they  succeeded  in  driving  off  their  assaijants.  The 
Iroquois  were  forced  to  content   themselves  with 


I622.] 


TAKEN  BY   THE  ENGLISH. 


47 


some  Hurons  whom  they  found  not  far  away,  and 
made  prisoners. 

After  various  changes  in  the  management  of  the 
affairs  of  the  colony,  which  were  not  prosperous, 
they  had  been  placed  under  the  control  of  two 
Huguenots,  William  de  Caen  and  his  nephew 
Emeric.  The  colony  had  been  carefully  kept  free 
from  Protestants,  who  would  have  settled  in  New 
France  in  great  numbers  if  they  could  have  been 
allowed  to  do  so  and  to  enjoy  the  free  exercise  of 
their  religion.  De  Caen  was  ordered  to  take  over 
some  Jesuits  ;  but  when  they  arrived  he  would  not 
permit  them  to  stay  at  the  fort  or  Chateau  St. 
Louis,  a  building  which  Champlain  had  begun  in 
1620  for  the  citadel.  The  jealousies  between  the 
Jesuits  and  the  authorities,  and  between  the  Jesuits 
and  the  other  orders,  proved  a  fruitful  source  of 
trouble  in  Quebec  for  years  afterward.  On  account 
of  the  complaints  of  the  Jesuits  that  Emeric  de  Caen 
obliged  Catholic  sailors  to  join  in  the  prayers  of  his 
Huguenots,  De  Caen  was  ordered  to  stop  all  Prot- 
estants from  praying  or  singing  psalms  on  the  St. 
Lawrence.  But  the  sailors  remonstrated,  and  a 
compromise  was  finally  agreed  upon,  by  which  the 
prayers  were  allowed  and  the  psalm-singing  only 
forbidden. 

In  1627,  Cardinal  Richelieu  deposed  the  De  Caens 


Ipliiil 

mil 


tt        'l   'f/ 


ff 


48 


QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND 


[1622, 


and  put  the  control  of  New  France  into  the  hands 
of  the  **  Company  of  One  Hundred  Associates." 

After  the  devastation  of  Acadia  by  Argall,  the 
country,  though  claimed  by  both  England  and 
France,  was  neglected  by  both.  Biencourt  inher- 
ited a  claim  to  Port  Royal  from  his  father,  Poutrin- 
court — who  held  it  in  right  of  a  grant  from  the 
French  King — and  lived  in  the  country  v/ith  his 
•ilend,  Charles  St.  Etienne  de  la  Tour,  who  had 
*ome  to  Acadia  in  boyhood  with  his  father,  Claude 
ck;  la  Tour,  a  French  Huguenot.  In  1623,  Bien- 
court died,  having  bequeathed  his  interest  in  Port 
Royal  and  the  surrounding  country  to  Charles  de  la 
Tour. 

Meantime,  the  King  of  England,  James  I.,  had 
granted  the  whole  tract  of  land  now  forming  New 
Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia,  together  with  the 
g.tirninsula  between  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs,  to  Sir  William  Alexander, 
afterward  Earl  of  Stirling,  a  now  forgotten  poet 
and  dramatist.  The  entire  territory  was  called 
Nova  Scotia  ;  and  the  limits  of  Nova  Scotia  and 
Acadia  were  long  afterward  a  fruitful  subject  of 
dispute  and  bloodshed  between  the  English  and  the 
French.  In  1622,  Alexander  made  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  plant  a  colony,  and  three  years  later  an 
order  of    Baronets    of   Nova  Scotia  was   created. 


T^ 


\  I 


1625.] 


TAKEN  BY  THE  ENGLISH. 


49 


Each  baronet  was  to  receive  a  tract  of  land  six  miles 
by  three,  and  in  return  was  to  help  in  the  work  of 
colonizing  the  country. 

In   1626,  war  broke  out  in  France  between  the 
Catholics   and    Protestants.     Rochelle,   the  strong- 
hold of  the  Huguenots,  was  held  by  the  rebels,  and 
Richelieu  was  besieging  it,   determined  to  put   an 
end  to  the  Protestant  power  in  the  kingdom.     The 
city  was  making  a  desperate  resistance,  and  Charles 
I.  of  England  sent  a  fleet  to  the  help  of  the  rebels. 
Charles  de  la  Tour,  who  had  built  a  fort  near  Cape 
Sable,  sent  to  France  for  arms  and  ammunition  to 
prepare  him  for  defence,  in  case  the  English  should 
take  advantage  of  the  troubles  in  Europe  to  attack 
Acadia.     The  message  was  taken  by  his  father,  who 
came  back  bringing  the  supplies,  in  company  with 
one  De  Roquemont,  who  had    charge  of  cannon, 
ammunition,  and  stores  for  Quebec. 

When  hostilities  opened  between  England  and 
France,  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  under  the 
auspices  of  Sir  William  Alexander  to  attack  the 
French  in  America,  and  the  command  was  given  to 
Sir  David  Kirk,  a  Huguenot  of  Dieppe,  who  had 
fled  from  religious  persecution  in  France. 

Stopping  at  Tadoussac  with  his  ships.  Kirk  sent  a 
party  to  destroy  the  settlement  at  Cape  Tourmente, 
and    another    to    summon    Quebec    to    surrender. 


i 

f-'   ■ 


\iW\ 


50 


QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND 


[1629. 


:*■! 


Champlain  answered  that  he  should  hold  his  position 
to  the  last,  and,  putting  his  poor  defences  in  the 
best  possible  order,  waited  anxiously  for  the  ex- 
pected supplies  from  France.  But  Roquennont's 
ships  were  intercepted  by  Kirk,  who  took  some  of 
them  and  sank  the  rest  in  the  river.  Supposing, 
from  Champlain 's  answer  to  his  summons,  that 
Quebec  was  strongly  fortified  and  garrisoned,  he 
made  no  further  attempt  at  the  time  to  take  it. 
But  the  following  year  he  sent  his  brother  Louis 
to  besiege  it.  The  loss  of  Roquemont's  supplies, 
and  the  wrecking  of  another  vessel  which  had  been 
sent  over  with  food,  had  reduced  the  people  of 
Quebec  almost  to  starvation,  and  they  took  to  the 
woods,  where  they  dug  roots  and  picked  up  acorns 
for  food.  Many  of  them  wandered  off  to  the 
Indians  ;  some  made  their  way  to  the  sea-coast  in 
'the  hope  of  getting  a  passage  to  France  in  fishing- 
boats.  Champlain  had  only  sixteen  men  left  to 
defend  the  fort,  and  as  Kirk  offered  favorable 
terms,  he  surrendered  without  resistance.  The 
soldiers  were  to  march  out  with  their  arms  and 
baggage  and  a  beaver  robe  apiece  ;  the  friars  with 
their  clothing  and  books  ;  everything  else  was  to  be 
left  in  the  fort.  The  French  were  to  be  furnished 
with  a  vessel  to  take  them  to  France.  Louis  Kirk 
took  possession  of  Quebec,  July  20th,  1629,  and  the 


mm 


1629.] 


TAKEN  BY  THE  ENGLISH. 


51 


banner  of  St.  George  waved  on  its  heights  for  the 
first  time,  just  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  before 
the  victory  of  Wolfe. 

The  elder  La  Tour,  who  was  with  Roque- 
mont's  fleet,  was  taken  prisoner  and  carried  to 
England.  There  he  was  presented  at  court  and  re- 
ceived with  great  favor.  Moved,  perhaps,  by  the 
treatment  of  Protestants  in  France,  he  renounced 
his  allegiance  to  his  own  country,  married  one  of 
the  maids  of  honor  of  the  Queen  of  England,  was 
created  a  baronet  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  received  a 
grant  of  land  there  from  Sir  William  Alexander. 
His  son  was  invested  with  the  same  title  and  was  to 
share  the  territory  with  him.  In  return.  La  Tour 
agreed  to  plant  a  Scotch  colony  and  convey  to  the 
English  his  son's  fort  at  Cape  Sable. 

In  1630,  he  went  over  with  his  colonists  in  two 
ships  ;  but  his  son  received  the  proposal  to  throw  off 
allegiance  to  France  with  great  indignation,  much  to 
the  discomfiture  of  his  father,  who  had  had  no 
doubts  of  success.  After  several  attempts  to  per- 
suade his  son  to  a  change  of  mind,  he  landed  his 
men  and  assaulted  the  fort,  but  failed  to  capture  it, 
and  then  took  his  Scotch  colonists  to  Port  Royal. 
When  it  became  probable  that  Acadia  would  be 
given  up  to  France  by  England,  his  son  invited  him 
to  Cape  Sable,  and  built  a  house  for  him  outside  the 


I  iJI 


I'iw: 


llii, 
11!] 


'iiii !  I 


Sa 


QUEBEC  FOUNDED,  AND 


[1632. 


walls  of  the  fort,  stipulating  that  neither  he  nor  his 
wife  should  ever  set  foot  within  them. 

Champlain  urged  upon  the  French  Government 
the  policy  of  insisting  on  the  restoration  of  New 
France  when  the  treaty  of  peace  should  be  made. 
The  question  was  seriously  debated  whether  it  was 
worth  while  to  keep  and  colonize  Canada.  All 
attempts  so  far  had  involved  large  outlays,  with 
small  returns.  There  was  no  mineral  wealth,  such 
as  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  had  brought  from 
their  colonies  ;  and  Spain  and  Portugal,  with  all  the 
treasure  from  Mexico  and  Peru,  had  declined  rather 
than  grown  stronger. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  argued  that  the  right 
means  had  not  yet  been  taken  ;  that  the  monopolies 
granted  to  individuals  had  interfered  with  coloniza- 
tion ;  that  New  France  might  be  peopled  with  the 
overflow  of  population  at  home ;  that  mines  might 
still  be  discovered  there  ;  that  the  fur-trade  and 
fisheries,  properly  conducted,  might  be  a  great 
source  of  wealth  ;  and,  above  all,  that  France  owed 
a  religious  duty  to  the  heathen  of  the  western 
wilds. 

The  restoration  of  New  France  was  finally  made 
one  of  the  conditions  in  the  treaty  between  the  two 
powers  which  was  signed  at  St.  Germain-en-Laye, 
March  29th,  1632,  when  Canada,  Acadia,  and  Cape 


1632.] 


TAKEN  BY   THE  ENGLISH, 


53 


Breton  came  once  more  under  the  dominion  of 
France. 

Champlain  died  in  the  fort  at  Quebec,  December 
25th,  1635,  and  was  buried  in  a  sepulchre  built  by 
the  colonists,  the  site  of  which  is  not  very  definitely 
indicated  in  the  accounts  of  the  time.  About  the 
year  1866,  the  Abb6  Laverdi^re  found  traces  of  the 
tomb  on  the  site  of  the  Recollect  Chapel  in  Cham- 
plain  Street.  The  ground  had  been  broken  up  the 
year  before  for  the  laying  of  water-pipes ;  but  a 
vault  was  found  containing  a  coffin  and  human 
bones,  apparently  those  of  some  distinguished  per- 
son, and  near  by  were  the  remains  of  three  others. 
On  a  wall  of  the  vault  which  was  still  standing  was 
found  a  part  of  the  name,  Samvel  de  Champlain. 

Champlain's  adventurous  and  courageous  spirit, 
combined  with  his  pure  and  disinterested  motives, 
and  his  remarkably  clear  and  far-sighted  judgment, 
make  him  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  heroic 
characters  in  the  early  history  of  America.  Though 
an  enthusiast  in  the  work  to  which  he  gave  his  life, 
he  was  forbearing  toward  the  cowardice,  the  avarice, 
and  the  half  heartedness  of  colleagues,  even  when 
they  retarded  and  almost  ruined  his  work.  Though 
faithful  to  his  creed,  narrow  in  the  interpretation  of 
it,  as  was  the  fashion  of  his  age,  and  zealous  in 
spreading  it,  he  never  appears  as  a  persecutor. 


!'iiPi 

lil'llll 


it 


CHAPTER  IV. 


rli 


THE   FRENCH   IN  THE  WEST. 

The  Iroquois— Fate  of  the  Hurons— Fight  at  the  Long  Sault— Forts 
on  the  Richelieu— Montreal — The  Jesuits— Discoveries  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley— La  Salle— La  Chine— Iberville  on  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico. 

The  history  of  Canada  for  many  years  after  the 
death  of  Champlain  is  little  more  than  the  history 
of  the  Jesuit  missions  and  the  fierce  battles  of  the 
Algonquins  and  Iroquois,  in  which  the  French 
suffered  with  their  Indian  allies.  The  Mohawks  had 
not  only  recovered  from  their  superstitious  fear  of 
fire-arms,  but  had  supplied  themselves  with  them 
from  Dutch  traders  in  the  New  Netherlands.  De- 
termined to  exterminate  the  Hurons  and  Algonquins, 
they  descended  the  St.  Lawrence  in  war  parties,  and 
surprised  their  foes  on  the  way  down  to  the  French 
settlements  with  their  loads  of  bear  and  beaver 
skins  for  the  summer  trade. 

The  Governor  of  Quebec  built  a  fort  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Richelieu  to  inte*     |t  t  they  easily 

avoided  its  guns  by  s^     ii  '  irchen  canoes 

at  a  point  above  ar         iryiu;       .ei     northeastward 
through   the   woods,    cO   be    launched    on   the   St. 


1650.] 


THE  FKEiVCH  IN    THE    WEST. 


55 


Lawrence  below,  while  the  garrison  would  not  dis- 
cover that  they  had  passed. 

By  1650,  the  Hurons  were  almost  annihilated. 
Their  principal  towns  had  been  burned,  and  the  in- 
habitants slaughtered,  dispersed,  or  carried  away.  I 
A  remnant  was  taken  to  Quebec  by  the  missionaries, 
and  settled  in  several  places  successively  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  city.  Some  of  them  are  said  to  be 
still  living  at  the  last  place  to  which  they  were  re- 
moved, called  New  Lorette.  Some  settled  among 
their  conquerors  in  Central  New  York,  where  they 
clung  to  the  religion  taught  them  by  the  Jesuits, 
and  many  good  Catholics  were  found  among  them 
by  missionaries  in  1668.  That  part  called  the 
Tobacco  Nation  wandered  from  place  to  place 
through  the  Northwest,  driven  by  the  Iroquois 
and  the  tribes  among  which  they  attempted  to 
settle.  They  rested  successively  on  the  Island  of 
Michilimackinac,  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan, the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  the  western 
shore  of  Lake  Superior,  the  Strait  of  Mackinaw 
once  more,  and  at  last  at  the  western  end  of  Lake 
Erie,  where  they  were  known  as  Wyandots.  Under 
this  name  they  fought  with  the  French  against  the 
English. 

In  1660,  when  a  large  party  of  the  Iroquois  were 
on  their  way  to  attack  Quebec,  a  company  of  seven- 


Ijj 

I 


56 


THE  FRENCH  IN  THE    WEST. 


[1660. 


teen  men,  all  between  twenty-one  and  thirty-one 
years  of  age,  under  Adam  Dollard,  Sieur  des 
Ormeaux,  asked  leave  of  the  commandant  of 
Montreal,  in  whose  garrison  they  were,  to  go  out 
and  attack  them.  It  was  almost  certain  death  ;  but 
their  enthusiasm  would  take  no  denial,  and  the 
commandant  gave  a  reluctant  consent. 

They  were  joined  by  a  party  of  forty  Hurons  and 
four  Algonquins,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  Long  Sault 
took  possession  of  an  old  palisaded  fort,  built  long 
before  by  the  Algonquins.  The  Iroquois  came,  and  a 
desperate  fight  ensued.  The  assailants  were  repeated- 
ly repelled,  and  the  French  party,  though  suffering  for 
want  of  water,  held  out  bravely  ;  but  after  four  or 
five  days  they  were  deserted  by  all  the  Hurons  ex- 
cept their  chief,  Etienne  Annahotaha,  persuaded  by 
some  of  their  countrymen  who  had  been  adopted  by 
the  Iroquois,  and  who  told  them  that  a  large  re- 
enforcement  was  on  the  way. 

The  reenforcement  came,  but  the  fort  held  out 
three  days  longer.  All  the  Frenchmen  fell  but  one, 
and  he,  badly  wounded,  was  carried  away  by  the 
victors.  The  Hurons  who  deserted  were  treated  as 
prisoners.  But  the  Iroquois,  although  victorious, 
were  discouraged  and  demoralized  by  the  bravery 
of  the  heroes  of  the  Long  Sault,  and  returned  to 
their  own  country. 


1665.1 


THE  FRENCH  IN   THE    IVEST. 


57 


In  1665,  the  Marquis  de  Tracy  was  sent  over  with 
two  hundred  soldiers  to  subdue  the  Iroquois.  A 
fort  was  built,  under  command  of  an  officer  named 
Chambly,  at  the  rapids  in  the  Richelieu  which  bear 
his  name,  and  another  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the 
old  Fort  Richelieu,  which  had  been  built  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  in  1642.  The  new  fort  was  in 
charge  of  an  officer  named  Sorel,  whose  name  is  pre- 
served in  that  of  the  town  and  river.  Sali^res,  the 
Colonel,  built  a  third  fort  above  Chambly,  called  St. 
Theresa.  The  three  western  of  the  Five  Nations 
were  now  at  peace  with  the  French,  but  the  Mo- 
hawks and  Oneidas  continued  hostile. 

Courcelle,  the  Governor  of  Canada,  and  Tracy 
marched  their  men  into  the  Mohawk  country,  and 
took  their  five  important  towns,  the  Indians  flying 
at  their  approach  without  striking  a  blow.  In  1667 
the  Mohawks  asked  for  French  mechanics  and  mis- 
sionaries to  be  sent  among  them.  The  request  was 
granted,  and  the  French  had  almost  unbroken  peace 
with  them  for  twenty  years. 

According  to  the  authorities,  the  founding  of 
Montreal  was  brought  about  in  a  wholly  supernatural 
way.  A  gentleman  of  moderate  fortune,  named 
Dauversiere,  living  at  La  Fi^che  in  Anjou,  was  di- 
rected by  a  mysterious  inward  voice  to  establish  a 
hospital-convent  on  the  island  of  Montreal,  in  the 


m 


II 


58 


THE  FRENCH  IN   THE    WEST 


[1641. 


■        1?. 


ill; 


-.4 


St.  Lawrence  ;  and  about  the  same  time  a  priest 
named  John  James  Olier  de  Verneuil  was  also  di- 
rected by  an  inward  voice  to  send  priests  to  the 
island  of  Montreal,  to  bring  the  American  Indians 
into  the  true  church.  It  is  said  that  neither  knew 
anything  of  the  place  ;  particulars  regarding  New 
France  were  published  every  year  by  the  Jesuits, 
but  these  men  saw  the  island  in  visions. 

At  length  they  chanced  to  meet,  knew  each  other 
at  once,  and  understood  their  common  design.  They 
formed  a  plan  for  establishing  religious  communities 
on  the  island,  and  for  raising  a  colony  to  accompany 
them,  and  were  soon  joined  by  others,  obtained  a 
title  to  the  island,  raised  some  money,  and  resolved 
to  send  out  forty  men  to  begin  a  settlement  under 
Paul  de  Chomedey,  Sieur  de  Maisonneuve,  who  took 
charge  in  the  same  spirit  of  pious  zeal  which  actuated 
the.  founders. 

More  associates  were  soon  added  to  the  company, 
many  of  them  women  of  wealth,  and  another  mira- 
cle supplied  a  leader  for  the  nuns.  Mademoiselle 
Jeanne  Mance  felt  herself  called  to  labor  in  Canada, 
and  her  spiritual  director  assured  her  that  the  call 
was  doubtless  divine.  Chancing  to  go  into  a  church 
at  Rochelle,  after  she  had  determined  to  go,  she  met 
Dauversi^re,  when  the  two  instantly  knew  each 
other  and  understood  each  other's  secret  intentions 


1642.] 


THE  FRENCH  IM    THE    WEST. 


59 


as  had  happened  before  with  Dauversi^re  and  Olier. 
Mademoiselle  Mance  went  with  Maisonneuve  and  his 
colony,  in  1641,  and  in  1642  they  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  Montreal,  which  they  called  Villemarie — ■ 
the  town  of  Mary. 

During  all  these  years  the  missionaries  were  per- 
forming wonders  of  courage  and  devotion  among 
the  ungrateful  and  treacherous  savages.  Father 
Nicholas  Viel,  a  Recollect,  on  his  way  home  from 
among  the  Hurons  to  spend  a  time  in  retirement  at 
Quebec,  was  drowned  by  the  treacherous  Indians 
who  were  bringing  him  in  a  canoe  down  the  rapid  of 
the  River  of  the  Prairies,  back  of  Montreal  ;  and  the 
ra'iid  is  still  called  the  "  Sault  au  Recollect." 
Fathers  Garneau  and  Mesnard  were  murdered  by  the 
Ottawas. 

The  Jesuits  were  ready  to  enter  every  dangerous 
field,  and  even  to  rush  to  martyrdom  ;  they  estab- 
lished missions  among  the  Hurons,  notably  that  of 
Sainte  Marie  on  the  River  Wye  ;  they  even  at- 
tempted the  conversion  of  the  Iroquois.  Father 
Isaac  Jogues,  taken  prisoner  by  them  as  he  was  re- 
turning from  the  Huron  mission,  might  have  escaped, 
but  thought  it  his  duty  to  remain  with  his  cap- 
tive converts  and  prepare  them  for  death.  With 
two  lay  associates  of  his  order,  Goupil  and  Couture, 
he  was  carried  to  the  Mohawk  country  and  made  to 


i'ffll 


'    liil'; 


6o 


THE  FRENCH  IN   THE    WEST. 


[1644. 


suffer  every  torture  that  savage  ingenuity  could 
devise.  Goupil  was  murdered  on  suspicion  of 
having  bewitched  children  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross. 

Jogues  suffered  not  only  from  his  wounds,  but 
from  hunger ;  for  he  would  not  eat  meat  that  had 
been  offered  to  heathen  gods.  But  he  thought  him- 
self suflficiently  rewarded  by  the  opportunity  of 
baptizing  a  few  children  and  dying  Indians.  The 
following  summer,  going  with  a  fishing-party  to  a 
place  near  Fort  Orange,  now  Albany,  he  was  assisted 
to  escape  by  a  Dutch  trader ;  and  the  Dutch  after- 
ward paid  a  ransom  for  him,  of  the  value  of  three 
hundred  livres.  He  and  his  companions  were  the 
first  white  men  to  look  on  Lake  George.  At  his 
next  visit,  three  years  later,  he  named  it  Lake  St. 
Sacrament. 

He  went  to  France  from  New  York,  but  returned 
to  Canada  in  1644,  and  volunteered  to  establish  a 
mission  in  the  Iroquois  country  in  1645.  Unde- 
terred by  the  recollection  of  the  horrors  of  his 
former  visit,  he  went  back  ;  but  a  sickness  that  pre- 
vailed among  them  during  the  summer,  and  the  de- 
struction of  their  harvest  by  caterpillars,  were  laid 
to  the  evil  spell  of  a  box  of  papers  which  he  had 
left  among  them  during  a  short  absence.  Jogues 
was  seized  on   his  return,  and  after  being  beaten, 


W 


1646.] 


THE  FRENCH  IN    THE    WEST. 


61 


hacked,  and  v/eated  with  the  utmost  cruelty  and 
indignity,  was  killed  by  a  blow  from  a  hatchet. 
His  companion.  Father  Lalande,  shared  his  fate, 
and  their  heads  were  set  up  on  the  palisades  of  the 
town. 

Father  de  Nou6,  a  Huron  missionary,  was  found 
kneeling  and  frozen  in  the  snow,  in  a  midwinter 
journey  to  Fort  Richelieu.  Father  Daniel  was  in 
the  Huron  town  of  St.  Joseph  when  it  was  assailed 
by  the  Iroquois,  and  busied  himself  among  the 
panic-stricken  inhabitants,  baptizing  and  absolving. 
When  the  assailants  forced  an  entrance,  he  directed 
those  near  him  where  to  fly,  and  went  to  meet  the 
enemy  to  gain  time  for  them.  A  shower  of  arrows 
was  sent  at  him  ;  but  the  undaunted  priest  threatened 
the  assailants  with  the  vengeance  of  God,  at  the  same 
time  assuring  them  that  repentance  would  gain  his 
favor.  A  shot  pierced  his  heart,  he  fell  dead,  and 
was  burned  in  his  church,  where  his  body  was  thrown 
by  the  victors. 

Charles  Gamier  and  Noel  Chabanel  fell,  the  first 
by  the  Iroquois  at  St.  Jean,  the  other  by  a  renegade 
Huron  convert  who  fancied  the  Christian  religion 
had  been  the  destruction  of  the  Huron  nation. 
Jacques  Buteux  was  slain  by  the  Iroquois  on  a  toil- 
some winter  journey  to  the  nation  of  the  White 
Fish,   whose  country  was  north  of   Three  Rivers. 


!l!l 


62 


THE  FRENCH  IN    THE    WEST. 


[1667. 


I* 

V 


\ 


m 


Jean  de  Brebeuf  and  Gabriel  Lalemant  were  taken 
at  the  Huron  town  of  St.  Louis  when  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  Iroquois,  and  slain  after  horrible  tor- 
tures. The  skull  of  Brebeuf — whose  body,  together 
with  that  of  Lalemant,  was  found  on  the  scene  of 
his  martyrdom — is  still  preserved  at  the  H6tel-Dieu 
in  Quebec,  together  with  a  silver  bust  of  him  which 
his  relatives  sent  over  from  France. 

In  the  pursuit  of  their  c  lling,  the  Jesuits  pene- 
trated far  beyond  the  frontiers  of  the  colonies,  and 
discovered  lands  and  waters  never  before  seen  by 
Europeans.  It  was  due  in  part  to  their  explorations 
that  the  French  laid  claim  to  the  Mississippi  Valley 
and  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes,  and  that  they 
gained  the  alliance  of  so  many  of  the  tribes  that  in- 
habited the  West,  by  whose  help  they  came  so  near 
establishing  their  claim.  Father  Claude  Allouez,  a 
missionary  to  the  Ottawas,  explored  the  southern 
shore  of  Lake  Superior  in  1667,  and  in  1670,  with 
Father  Dablon,  he  explored  the  regions  about  the 
Upper  Wisconsin.  In  1673,  Father  Marquette,  with 
Louis  Joliet,  discovered  the  Mississippi,  and  de- 
scended as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas.  Father 
Hennepin  accompanied  La  Salle  down  the  Illinois 
and  up  the  Mississippi,  and  wrote  descriptions  of 
his  voyages. 

One  of  the  most  renowned  of  French  explorers  of 


■^^F^.iJ't 


1669.] 


THE  FRENCH  IN   THE    WEST. 


^^ 


of 


the  interior  of  the  continent  was  Robert  Cavelier  de 
la  Salle.  Hearing  of  the  great  rivers  at  the  west,  he 
collected  a  party  to  go  in  search  of  them  in  1669. 
The  party  numbered  twenty-two,  and  included  a 
priest,  DoUier  de  Casson,  noted  for  his  great  size 
and  strength.  It  was  said  of  him  that  when  in  his 
full  strength,  he  could  stretch  out  his  arms  and  hold 
a  man  on  each  hand.  The  party  set  out  from  La 
Salle's  seigniory  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  which  he 
called  St.  Sulpice.  It  was  near  the  La  Chine  rap- 
ids, eight  or  nine  miles  from  Montreal.  They  gave 
out  that  they  were  going  to  find  a  western  pas- 
sage to  China.  In  Western  New  York  they  met 
Joliet,  and  learned  something  of  his  discoveries. 
For  some  reason,  La  Salle  and  others  of  the  party 
returned  to  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  and  on  this  account, 
it  is  said,  his  place  was  called  in  derision,  La  Chine 
(China),  a  name  which  it  still  retains  and  which  is 
now  applied  to  the  rapid.  De  Casson  and  some  of 
his  companions  went  on,  and  were  the  first  to  sail 
through  Lakes  Erie  and  St.  Clair. 

In  1678,  La  Salle,  having  received  a  monopoly  of 
the  trade  in  buffalo-skins  for  five  years,  and  per- 
mission to  establish  forts  and  trading-posts  at  the 
West,  set  out  again.  He  built  Fort  Miami  at  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph,  and  Fort  Crevecceur  on 
the  site  of  Peoria,  Illinois.     In  1682,  he  descended 


64 


THE  FRENCH  IN   THE    WEST. 


[1702. 


the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth,  and  took  possession 
for  France.  In  1684,  he  brought  a  colony  of  two 
hundred  and  eighty  persons  to  form  a  settlement  on 
the  Mississippi  ;  but  they  missed  the  mouth  of  the 
river  and,  going  on  to  the  shores  of  Texas,  landed  at 
Matagorda  Bay.  One  of  their  four  ships,  the  store- 
ship,  was  wrecked,  and  two  were  taken  away  by  the 
naval  officer  in  charge.  A  fort  called  St.  Louis  was 
built ;  but  the  colony  languished,  and  in  1687  not 
more  than  one  seventh  remained.  La  Salle  started 
northward  by  land  with  several  companions ;  but 
some  of  them  formed  a  conspiracy  and  assassinated 
him  near  a  branch  of  Trinity  River,  while  the 
survivors  of  his  colony  were  nearly  all  murdered  by 
the  Indians. 

In  1699,  D' Iberville  and  his  brother  De  Bienville, 
planted  a  French  Colony  on  the  Bay  of  Biloxi,  the 
first  in  the  present  state  of  Mississippi.  French 
Protestants  asked  leave  to  settle  on  the  lower  Mis- 
sissippi, but  were  told  that  the  King  had  not  driven 
Huguenots  from  France  to  form  a  republic  of  them 
in  America.  In  1702  a  fort  was  built  on  the  Mobile 
River  by  the  colonists  of  Biloxi — the  first  settlement 
in  Alabama— and  another  was  placed  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi. 

The  French  had  now  a  chain  of  forts  and  trading- 
posts  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 


I702.] 


THE  FRENCH  IN   THE    WEST. 


65 


The  oldest  settlement  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  is 
Kaskaskia,  originally  a  Jesuit  mission  ;  and  besides 
the  stations  at  St.  Joseph  and  Peoria,  there  were 
posts  at  Detroit,  Chicago,  Vincennes,  and  other 
places  on  the  line  of  the  great  lakes  and  rivers. 


CHAPTER   V. 


m 


li-:: 


ACADIA. 

Destruction  of  English  Trading-Siations — Feud  between  Charnisay 
and  La  Tour — Capture  of  Acadia  by  the  English — Restoration  to 
France  by  the  Treaty  of  Breda — St.  Castine  at  Penobscot— Attack 
by  Andros — Hostilities  by  Indians — War  between  England  and 
France. 

After  the  restoration  of  Acadia  to  France  by 
the  treaty  of  1632,  grants  were  made  to  Frenchmen 
in  the  country,  and  some  colonists  were  sent  out. 
There  was  room  for  a  variety  of  interpretations  of 
the  treaty  in  regard  to  the  territory  near  the  Penob- 
scot and  Kennebec  Rivers,  according  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  limits  of  Acadia.  The  English  trad- 
ing-stations at  Penobscot  and  Machias  were  broken 
up  by  parties  of  Frenchmen  and  the  traders  were 
plundered  of  their  goods.  The  Plymouth  colony 
attempted  to  re-take  Penobscot  ;  but  the  French 
had  strengthened  the  place  and  continued  to  hold  it, 
warning  the  English  to  encroach  no  farther  than 
Pemaquid. 

The  principal  grants  of  territory  in  Acadia  were 
made  to  Nicholas  Denys,  Isaac  de  Razillay,  and 
Charles  La  Tour.     De  Razillay's  rights  passed  into 


I635.J 


ACADIA. 


67 


the  possession  of  D'Aulnay  de  Charnisay  ;  and  the 
story  of  a  strange  feud  between  him  and  La  Tour  is 
the  history  of  Acadia  for  years.  La  Tour's  fort 
and  trading-station  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
John,  Charnisay's  at  Port  Royal.  Disputes  and 
jealousies  arose  between  them  as  early  as  1635  ;  and 
Charnisay  attempted  to  dislodge  his  enemy  by 
means  of  his  influence  at  court. 

He  laid  before  the  King  and  the  Prime  Minister 
accusations  of  treason  and  other  crimes  against  La 
Tour  ;  and  in  1641  an  order  was  sent  to  the  accused 
to  appear  and  make  answer  to  the  charges.  At  the 
same  time  Charnisay  was  ordered  to  seize  him  and 
take  control  of  'his  fort,  if  he  should  refuse  to  obey 
the  order.  La  Tour  refused,  on  the  ground  that  the 
order  was  based  on  misrepresentations.  The  vessel 
sent  to  take  him  to  France  carried  back  letters  from 
Charnisay  giving  accounts  of  La  Tour's  defiance, 
and  before  the  end  of  the  year  he  himself  went  to 
France  for  help  against  his  rival. 

La  Tour  put  his  defences  in  the  best  possible 
order,  and  sent  a  messenger  to  Boston,  a  Huguenot 
from  Rochelle,  to  propose  an  alliance.  Though  La 
Tour  himself  had  been  a  Protestant,  he  had  professed 
the  Catholic  faith  ;  but  his  wife  was  still  a  Prot- 
estant, and  Charnisay  used  that  fact  to  excite 
prejudice  against  them  at  the  French  court.     The 


I  Hi 


ill 


^.- 


I.  i 


'I 
il 


68 


ACADIA. 


ti643- 


authorities  at  Boston  readily  accepted  La  Tour's 
proposal  for  free  trade  between  his  colony  and 
theirs  ;  but  they  were  more  wary  when  it  came  to 
the  question  of  furnishing  him  aid  against  Charnisay, 
and  promised  nothing.  The  next  year  La  Tour 
sent  his  lieutenant  to  Boston  with  fourteen  men  and 
letters  to  John  Winthrop,  again  asking  assistance. 

The  people  of  Boston  treated  La  Tour's  men 
with  great  consideration,  and  were  edified  at  their 
respectful  attendance  at  the  Puritan  meetings, 
though  they  were  Catholics.  The  lieutenant  ac- 
cepted with  thanks,  from  one  of  the  elders,  a  Testa- 
ment in  French,  with  notes  by  a  Protestant  minis- 
ter, and  promised  to  read  it.  He  induced  some  of 
the  merchants  to  fit  out  a  ship  and  send  it  at  once 
to  open  the  trade. 

On  its  way  back,  this  ship  stopped  at  Pemaquid, 
where  it  happened  to  meet  Charnisay.  He  showed* 
the  officers  an  order  from  France  for  the  arrest  of 
La  Tour,  and  gave  them  notice  that  he  would  seize 
any  vessel  he  should  find  trading  with  the  rebel.  By 
giving  mortgages  on  his  lands  to  one  Le  Borgne,  he 
had  raised  a  large  amount  of  money,  with  which  he 
bought  five  vessels  and  hired  five  hundred  men  to 
serve  against  La  Tour. 

Failing  of  support  from  New  England,  La  Tour 
sent  to  Rochellc  in  France,  and  a  large  armed  ves- 


EiLO^.,-.-' 


n 


1643] 


ACADIA. 


69 


sel,  carrying  one  hundred  and  forty  men,  was  sent 
to  him  from  that  city.  When  this  ship,  the 
Clement,  reached  St.  John,  she  found  the  harbor 
blockaded  by  Charnisay,  who  had  come  with  two 
ships,  several  small  vessels,  and  five  hundred  men, 
to  assault  the  fort.  Failing  to  take  it,  he  es- 
tablished a  blockade,  hoping  to  starve  the  garrison 
into  surrender.  La  Tour  and  his  wife  now  stole 
out  of  the  fort  one  night,  reached  the  Clement  in  a 
small  boat,  and  sailed  directly  to  Boston,  where  La 
Tour  with  some  of  his  men  landed  at  Winthrop's 
garden  on  Governor's  Lsland. 

The  Governor  called  a  meeting  of  the  magistrates 
for  the  next  day,  and  the  captain  of  the  Clement,  to 
authenticate  his  mission,  laid  before  them  letters 
from  the  Vice-Admiral  of  France  and  the  agent  of 
the  Company  of  New  France,  authorizing  him  to 
carry  supplies  to  La  Tour,  who  was  called  the  King's 
Lieutenant- General  in  Acadia.  The  fact  that  these 
papers  were  issued  when  an  order  for  La  Tour's 
arrest  was  in  the  hands  of  Charnisay,  is  explained  by 
the  confusion  in  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment, caused  by  the  recent  death  of  Richelieu,  and 
the  expected  death  of  the  King,  Louis  XIIL,  who 
died  in  May,  1643,  before  the  Cletnent  reached  the 
St.  John. 

On  the  evidence  of  these  documents,  the  author!- 


Ill 
ill 


70 


ACADIA. 


[i643. 


ties  of  Boston  gave  him  permission  to  hire  men  and 
vessels  with  which  to  relieve  his  fort.  The  merchants 
of  Boston  were  anxious  to  see  La  Tour  reinstated, 
not  only  from  friendship  toward  him,  but  for  the 
interests  of  trade  ;  for  Charnisay  was  unfriendly  and 
would  have  no  commerce  with  them.  Two  of  them 
let  to  La  Tour  four  vessels,  with  fifty-two  men  and 
thirty-eight  pieces  of  ordnance  ;  and  he  raised  a 
force  of  ninety-two  soldiers  and  armed  them  for 
service.  The  agreement  was,  that  these  vessels 
should  accompany  La  Tour  to  St.  John  and  aid  the 
French  ship  in  his  defence  in  case  Cnarnisay's  forces 
should  attempt  to  interfere  with  him.  The  owners 
of  the  ships  sent  an  agent  authorized  to  determine 
how  far  La  Tour  should  be  allowed  to  use  them  in 
the  operations  against  his  enemy.  The  New  Eng- 
land soldiers  were  commanded  by  Captain  Hawkins. 
Not  until  the  five  ships  appeared  in  sight  of  the 
harbor  of  St.  John  did  Charnisay  suspect  that  La 
Tour  was  not  shut  up  with  his  men  inside  the  fort. 
Not  daring  to  cope  with  the  force  brought  against 
him,  he  ordered  his  vessels  to  set  sail  at  once  for 
Port  Royal.  La  Tour's  fleet  gave  chase,  and  Char- 
nisay ran  his  ships  aground  opposite  the  mill  of 
Port  Royal,  and  his  men  went  to  work  to  strengthen 
the  defences.  Captain  Hawkins  sent  Charnisay  a 
letter  from  Governor  Winthrop,  explaining  the  atti- 


I 


1643] 


ACADIA. 


71 


tude  of  his  government  in  the  matter,  and  propos- 
ing a  reconciliation  between  him  and  La  Tour  ;  but 
Charnisay  would  not  open  the  letter,  because  the 
address  did  not  give  him  his  title  of  Lieutenant- 
General,  and  he  sent  the  captain  a  copy  of  the  order 
for  La  Tour's  arrest. 

As  the  messenger  reported  that  Charnisay's  men 
seemed  confused  and  frightened,  La  Tour  wanted  to 
make  an  attack  at  once,  and  Hawkins  gave  his  men 
permission  to  follow  him  if  they  chose  to  do  so. 
About  thirty  of  them  joined  in  the  attack,  and  Char- 
nisay's men  were  driven  from  the  mill,  three  being 
killed  and  one  taken  prisoner.  The  New  England- 
ers  escaped  without  loss.  La  Tour  lost  three  men. 
On  the  way  back  to  his  fort  the  ships  took  a  pinnace 
of  Charnisay's,  loaded  with  a  great  quantity  of 
moose  and  beaver-skins,  which  were  divided  between 
La  Tour  and  the  crews  and  owners  of  the  Boston 
ships.  Much  uneasiness  was  felt  in  Boston  about 
the  seizure  of  Charnisay's  pinnace,  from  fear  that  it 
would  involve  them  in  a  quarrel  with  that  enterpris- 
ing and  dangerous  rascal. 

Charnisay  built  a  new  fort  at  Port  Royal,  and  tlTen 
sailed  for  France  to  get  more  help  to  crush  La  Tour  ; 
while  soon  after  his  arrival  there.  La  Tour's  wife 
reached  Rochelle,  in  search  of  aid  for  her  husband. 
Charnisay,  by  his  influence   at  court,  obtained  an 


72 


ACADIA. 


[1644. 


7' 


order  for  her  arrest  on  the  same  ground  as  that  for 
the  arrest  of  her  husband — that  she  was  a  traitor  and 
a  rebel.  Hearing  of  it  in  time,  she  fled  to  Eng- 
land ;  and  finding  friends  there,  she  set  sail  for 
Acadia,  in  a  ship  loaded  with  supplies  and  muni- 
tions of  war.  The  ship  carried  as  a  passenger  Roger 
Williams,  famous  in  the  history  of  New  England. 

The  master  of  the  vessel  spent  so  much  time  in 
trading  on  the  way,  that  it  was  six  months  before 
they  reached  Acadia,  and  on  the  coast  they  fell  in 
with  a  vessel  sent  out  by  Charnisay  to  watch  for 
them.  The  master  concealed  Lady  La  Tour  and  her 
party,  and  gave  out  that  he  was  on  the  way  to  Bos- 
ton ;  by  which  means  they  escaped,  but  the  ship 
was  obliged  to  go  on  to  its  pretended  destination. 
When  they  reached  that  port,  Lady  La  Tour 
brought  suit  against  the  owners  of  the  ship  for  the 
damage  she  had  sustained  by  the  delay,  and  was 
awarded  two  thousand  pounds.  In  satisfaction  of 
this  judgment,  she  seized  the  cargo  of  the  ship, 
valued  at  eleven  hundred  pounds,  and  hired  some 
Boston  vessels  to  take  her  home  with  her  supplies. 

Before  she  was  ready  to  sail  for  St.  John,  a  mes-{ 
senger   from   Charnisay,    Monsieur   Marie,    acx, jm- 
panied  by  ten  Frenchmen,  arrived  in  Boston  with 
orders  for  the  arrest  of  La  Tour  and  his  wife,  and 
asked  that  the  people  of  New  England  should  help 


7; 


1644] 


A  CAD /A. 


73 


Charnisay  to  carry  out  the  King's  commands,  or  at 
least  should  refrain  from  giving  any  further  aid  to 
the  rebel. 

The  magistrates  explained  their  neutral  position 
and  their  desire  to  effect  a  reconciliation  between 
the  rivals.  Marie  said  La  Tour  should  be  assured 
of  life  and  liberty  if  he  would  voluntarily  surrender, 
but  if  taken  in  his  rebellion  he  would  be  sure  to 
lose  his  head  ;  and  Charnisay  was  determined  to 
capture  his  wife  on  her  way  home,  believing  her  to 
be  the  cause  of  her  husband's  obstinate  rebellion. 
At  length  the  magistrates  agreed  to  sign  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  Charnisay  ;  but  they  reserved  for  their 
people  the  right  to  trade  with  whomsoever  they 
chose.  Having  obtained  this  agreement,  Marie  hur- 
ried away  before  Madame  La  Tour  set  sail,  in  the 
hope  of  giving  information  to  Charnisay  in  time  for 
him  to  take  her  prisoner  on  her  way,  but  he  was 
too  late  ;  and  Madame  La  Tour  reached  St.  John 
in  safety. 

Charnisay  soon  had  an  opportunity  for  retalia- 
tion. La  Tour  went  to  Boston  and  sent  back  a 
small  vessel  laden  with  stores.  Charnisay  captuTed 
it  and  turned  the  crew,  all  English,  out  on  a  deso- 
late island  covered  with  snow,  and  kept  them  there 
ten  days  without  fire  and  with  no  shelter  but  a  ruin- 
ous cabin.     Then  he  sent  them  home  in  an  old  shal- 


•l(  '■! 


74 


ACADIA. 


[1645. 


7, 


H 


lop,  without  a  compass  ;  but  they  managed  to  get 
safely  to  Boston. 

As  Charnisay's  ship  was  sailing  away,  it  was 
hailed  by  two  monks  on  the  coast  of  the  mainland, 
who  wished  to  be  taken  on  board.  They  had  been 
sent  out  from  the  fort  by  Madame  La  Tour,  on  the 
discovery  that  they  were  secretly  plotting  in  favor 
of  Charnisay.  They  told  him  the  fort  could  be 
easily  taken  ;  La  Tour  was  away,  and  the  place  was 
poorly  supplied  with  men  and  munitions.  Charni- 
say therefore  pressed  on  for  another  attack.  But 
Madame  La  Tour  was  not  disposed  to  surrender  ; 
she  directed  a  fire  a^Tiinst  the  ship,  which  killed 
twenty  men  and  wouiided  thirteen,  and  Charnisay 
then  retired  in  disappointment  and  wrath. 

Two  months  later  he  returned  to  the  attack  once 
more.  He  had  kept  La  Tour  from  reaching  his  fort 
by  the  vessels  watching  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  La 
Tour's  wife,  however,  withstood  the  siege  three 
days,  compelling  Charnisay  at  that  time  to  draw  off 
his  forces  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  treachery  of 
a  sentry,  who  betrayed  the  fort  for  a  bribe,  she 
might  have  been  finally  successful.  The  traitor 
allowed  the  enem.y  to  scale  the  walls  while  the  gar- 
rison were  at  prayers.  Even  then  the  lady  put  her- 
self at  the  head  of  the  men,  and  made  a  spirited  re- 
sistance.    Charnisay  at  length  offered  to  grant  life 


> 


7/ 


1646,3 


ACADIA. 


75 


and  liberty  to  the  garrison  if  the  fort  were  surren- 
dered ;  and  knowing  that  she  must  yield  at  last,  and 
anxious  to  save  the  lives  of  her  men,  the  lady 
accepted  the  terms. 

No  sooner  was  Charnisay  in  possession,  than,  dis- 
regarding his  compact  entirely,  he  hanged  all  the 
garrison  but  one  man,  saving  him  only  on  the  con- 
dition that  he  should  act  as  the  hangman.  He  com- 
pelled the  lady  to  witness  the  execution  with  a  rope 
around  her  neck,  to  signify  that  she  deserved  the 
same  fate.  Broken  by  the  horrible  scene,  and  the 
dangers  and  excitements  of  the  siege,  Madame  La 
Tour  lived  only  three  weeks  after  the  surrender  of 
the  fort,  while  her  husband  remained  in  Boston, 
ruined  in  fortune  and  homeless. 

The  next  year  Charnisay  concluded  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  Ne  v  England.  He  claimed  eight  thou- 
sand pounds  damages  for  the  attack  on  his  mill  by 
the  men  under  Hawkins  in  1643  ;  but  his  commis^ 
sioners  finally  agreed  to  accept  a  small  present  by 
way  of  acknowledgment  that  the  New  Englanders 
were  in  the  wrong  in  that  affair.  Governor  Win- 
throp  had  an  elegant  sedan  chair  which  had  been  on 
its  way  from  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  to  his  sister  in 
Spain  in  a  Spanish  ship,  when  the  ship  was  seized 
by  an  English  adventurer,  who  gave  it  to  Winthrop. 
This    chair   was   frugally   devoted    to   the    work  of 


ill 


76 


ACADIA. 


[1647. 


'I 
If  * 


repairing  the  friendship  with  Charnisay ;  and  his 
commissioners  departed  with  it  and  the  treaty  of 
peace. 

In  the  following  year  Charnisay  received  a  com- 
mission making  him  Governor  and  Lieutenant- 
General  for  the  King  in  Acadia,  and  giving  him  the 
exclusive  right  to  the  fur-trade  and  the  products 
of  the  mines.  It  remained  for  him  to  drive  out 
Nicholas  Denys,  who  was  established  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  peninsula,  but  this  was  accomplished 
much  more  easily  and  sp'^edily  than  the  expulsion 
of  La  Tour.  The  forts  of  Denys  were  taken,  his 
fishing  stations  broken  up,  and  himself  and  his 
family  sent  into  exile. 

Charnisay  was  now  supreme  in  Arcadia,  and  high 
in  royal  favor.  His  commission  gave  him  the  credit 
of  having  upheld  the  royal  authority  against  armed 
rebels,  of  having  built  a  seminary,  provided  friars 
to  bring  the  Ir  dians  to  a  knowledge  of  the  true 
religion,  and  driven  foreigners  from  the  King's  do- 
minions at  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot.  But  he 
did  not  long  enjoy  his  triumph.  In  1650  he  was 
drowned  in  the  river  of  Port  Royal. 

After  the  capture  of  his  fort  and  the  death  of  his 
wife,  La  Tour  went  to  Newfoundland  to  get  help 
from  the  Governor.  Failing  in  this,  he  spent  the 
following  years  in  Boston  and  Quebec,  until  news 


1653] 


A  CAD/A. 


77 


reached  him  of  the  death  of  Charnisay.  He  then 
went  at  once  to  France,  receiv  ^d  an  acquittal  from 
all  the  charges  against  him,  and  a  commission  as 
Governor  and  Lieutenant-General  for  the  King  in 
Acadia,  and  returned  to  take  possession  of  his  old 
fort.  Charnisay's  widow  and  children  were  still 
living  in  Acadia.  Madame  de  Charnisay  made  an 
agreement  with  the  Duke  de  Venddme,  by  which 
he  was  to  help  her  to  recover  the  rights  granted  to 
her  husband,  and  to  share  with  her  and  her  children 
in  the  possessions  to  be  recovered.  But  before  any- 
thing had  been  done  toward  dislodging  La  Tour  and 
Denys,  who  had  also  returned  to  his  forts.  La  Tour 
entered  into  a  compact  with  Madame  de  Charnisay 
which  superseded  the  agreement  with  the  Duke, 
consolidated  the  claims,  and  restored  peace  between 
the  families.  This  was  no  less  than  a  contract  of 
marriage  between  La  Tour  and  Madame  de  Charni- 
say, signed  in  February,  1653. 

At  this  time  a  new  claimant  appeared  in  the  per- 
son of  Le  Borgne,  to  whom  Charnisay  had  mort- 
gaged his  possessions.  He  was  proceeding  to  dis- 
possess La  Tour  and  Denys,  v/hen  he  was  interrupt- 
ed by  an  enemy  from  without.  Four  vessels  had 
been  sent  from  England  for  operations  against  the 
Dutch  colonies,  and  men  were  enlisted  in  Massachu- 
setts ;  but  news  arrived  of  peace  between   England 


i^ 


78 


ACADIA. 


[1654. 


m  * 


and  Holland,  and  the  force  was  turned  against  the 
French  in  Acadia.  La  Tour  surrendered  at  the  first 
summons,  being  without  provisions  or  stores  for  de- 
fence, and  Le  Borgne  gave  up  Port  Royal  after  a 
slight  resistance.  Acadia  was  now  once  more  in 
the  hands  of  the  English,  and  garrisons  of  New 
England  men  were  placed  in  the  forts ;  but  the 
French  settlers  and  missionaries  were  allowed  to 
remain. 

La  Tour,  with  his  usual  activity  and  fertility  in 
resources,  sailed  to  England  and  appealed  to  Crom- 
well to  confirm  to  him  the  grant  made  to  him  and 
his  father  jointly  by  Sir  William  Alexander  in  1630. 
The  success  which  seemed  always  to  attend  him 
when  he  pleaded  his  cause  in  person,  attended  him 
here.  Cromwell  granted  to  him,  in  connection  with 
two  of  his  own  faithful  followers — Thomas  Temple 
and  William  Crowne — an  immense  tract  of  land,  in- 
cluding the  whole  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  a 
distance  of  one  hundred  leagues  inland,  all  of  the 
peninsula,  and  a  large  part  of  the  present  State  of 
Maine.  A  small  rent  was  to  be  paid  in  beaver- 
skins,  and  only  Protestants  were  to  be  allowed  to 
settle  in  the  country,  but  the  French  Catholic  set- 
tlers already  there  were  not  to  be  disturbed.  La 
Tour  soon  sold  out  his  rights  to  Temple,  and  retired 
from  public  affairs.     Temple  made  great  improve- 


A 


1688.] 


ACADIA. 


79 


merits,  and  began  to  receive  large  returns  in  trade 
for  his  outlay,  when  the  subject  of  the  restoration 
of  Acadia  to  France  was  again  brought  forward. 
•  In  1667,  by  the  treaty  of  Breda.,  which  closed  the 
war  that  England  had  been  waging  for  two  years 
with  Holland  and  France,  France  gave  back  to  Eng- 
land half  of  the  Island  of  St.  Christopher,  which  she 
had  taken,  and  received  Acadia. 

The  disputed  post  of  Penobscot,  or  Pentagoet, 
was  now  occupied  by  the  Baron  de  St.  Castin,  who 
carried  on  a  large  trade  there.  He  had  lived  a  long 
time  among  the  savages,  married  an  Indian  wife, 
and  had  great  influence  over  all  the  tribes  of  that 
region,  belonging  to  the  family  of  the  Abenaquis. 
In  the  spring  of  1688,  Edmund  Andros,  Governor 
of  New  England,  attacked  St.  Castin,  on  the  ground 
that  the  land  was  included  in  a  grant  made  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  at  this  time  James  II.,  King  of  Eng- 
land. St.  Castin  and  his  family  fled  to  the  woods, 
and  Andros  plundered  his  dwelling.  The  result  gf 
this  was,  that  the  Indians  became  restless,  incited, 
it  was  supposed,  by  St.  Castin  ;  but  the  Revolution 
in  England  by  which  James  II.  lost  the  throne 
brought  on  a  war  between  France  and  England,  and 
the  colonies  in  America  prepared  for  hostilities. 


7 


CHAPTER  VI. 

KING  WILLIAM'S  WAR. 

Iroquois  Attack  on  Montreal — Plan  of  the  French — Capture  of  Eng- 
lish Posts  at  Hudson  Bay — Massacres  at  Dover,  Saco,  and  Pema- 
quid — Three  Expeditions  Planned  byFrontenac — The  Schenectady 
Massacre — Salmon  Falls  Destroyed —Attack  on  Casco — Expedi 
tion  Planned  by  the  English — Sir  William  Phips — Capture  of  Port 
Royal — Schuyler  at  La  Prairie — Phips  at  (Quebec. 

At  the  opening  of  this  war,  the  French  had  the 
post  at  Fort  Frontenac,  where  Kingston,  Canada, 
now  stands,  and  one  at  Niagara,  besides  those  on 
the  western  lakes  and  in  tlie  Mississippi  Valley.  In 
July,  1689,  a  thousand  Iroquois  attacked  Montreal, 
massacred  men,  women,  and  children,  burned  houses, 
laid  waste  the  fields,  and  carried  away  prisoners  and 
plunder.  The  garrison  at  Fort  Frontenac,  panic- 
stricken,  destroyed  the  fort  and  fled  down  the  river 
in  canoes,  many  of  them  losing  their  lives  in  shoot- 
ing the  rapids.  After  this  disaster,  the  Governor, 
Denonville,  was  superseded  by  the  former  Gov- 
ernor, Count  de  Frontenac,  one  of  the  most  efficient 
officers  and  one  of  the  most  striking  and  pict- 
uresque characters  in  the  whole  history  of  Canada. 

Frontenac  was  instructed  to  carry  out  a  plan  laid 


7j 


1689.  J 


m 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


81 


before  the  Government   by  Calli^res,  commandant 
at  Montreal.     Calli^res  was  to  ascend  Lake  Cham- 
plain  under  pretence  of  marching  against  the  Iro- 
quois, then  surprise  and  take  Albany,  descend  the 
Hudson,  and  seize  New  York,  thus  giving  the  French 
the  finest  harbor  on  the  coast,  and  cut  off  the  Iro- 
quois from    receiving   arms   and   ammunition  from 
the    English.     Calli^res  was   then  to  be  appointed 
Governor  of  Albany  and  New  York.      He  was  in- 
structed to  allow  only  French  Catholics  in  the  prov- 
ince ;    the    French    Huguenots  already  there  were 
to  be  sent  to  France,  and  all  other  Protestants  ban- 
ished to  other  colonies.     A  fleet  was  sent  over  to 
attack    New  York  while   Callieres  was  engaged  in 
land  operations,  and  Frontenac  came  over  in  one  of 
the  vessels,  as  did  also  some  Iroquois  whom  Denon- 
ville  had  treacherously  seized  two  years  before,  and 
sent  over  to  work  in  the  galleys.   The  fierce  revenge 
taken  by  their  nation  forced  him  to  ask  that  they 
should  be  sent  back.     Frontenac  had   the  tact  to 
make  a  firm  friend  of  their  chief  on  the  passage,  and 
the  friendship  was  afterward  of  service  to  him. 

The  first  news  he  received  on  his  arrival  was  that 
of  the  massacre  at  Montreal,  the  loss  of  Fort  Fron- 
tenac,  and  the  abandonment  of  Niagara.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  English  posts  at  Hudson  Bay  had 
been   attacked   by  two   brothers  of  the   Le  Moyne 


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83 


KING    WILLIAM'S    W.iR. 


[1689. 


family,  Sainte  H61^ne  and  Iberville,  and  all. but  one 
had  been  taken.  At  the  same  time,  the  Abenaquis 
in  Maine  had  been  making  havoc  among  English 
settlements.  Their  first  attack  was  on  Dover,  or 
Cocheco,  in  New  Hampshire,  in  June,  and  was  in 
satisfaction  of  revenge  that  had  been  nursed  for 
thirteen  years. 

In  1676,  near  the  close  of  King  Philip's  War, 
Major  Waldron,  of  the  Dover  militia,  had  treacher- 
ously seized  over  two  hundred  Indians  with  whom 
he  had  just  made  peace,  hanged  several,  and  sold 
the  rest  into  slavery.  In  retaliation,  the  Indians 
selected  Dover  for  the  first  assault.  They  sent  two 
squaws  to  Waldron 's  house,  who  begged  for  a 
night's  lodging,  and  were  allowed  to  sleep  on  the 
floor.  In  the  night  they  opened  the  gates,  and  the 
warriors  rushed  in.  Waldron,  who  was  eighty  years 
old,  seized  his  sword,  with  the  exclamation,  "  What 
now?  what  now?"  and  defended  himself  .bravely, 
till  he  was  felled  by  the  blow  of  a  hatchet.  Then 
they  placed  him  in  a  chair,  and  cried,  "  Judge 
Indians  now  !  Judge  Indians  now  !  "  Some  who 
were  in  debt  to  him  cut  great  gashes  in  his  breast 
with  their  knives,  exclaiming,  "  So  I  cross  out  my 
account !  "  The  old  man  fainted  under  the  tortures, 
and  was  killed  with  his  own  sword. 

At   Saco    several    men   were  killed    in   July  by 


71 


71 


1689.J 


KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


S3 


Indians,   who  in  August  attacked  Fort  Pemaquid, 

garrisoned    by  fifteen  men   unde-  Captain  Weems. 

The  one  hundred  assailants  were  all  converted  Ind- 

'  ians,  and  were  accompanied  by  their  priest,  a  Jesuit 

named   Thury.     The   fort   surrendered   the  second 

day  on  condition  of  life  and  liberty  to  the  garrison, 

a  promise  which  was   kept   to   Weems   and   a   few 

others,  while  the  rest  were  killed  as  they  were  leav- 

ing  the   fort,    or   carried   away   prisoners.     Father 

Thury  said  it  was  due  to  his  exhortations  that  the 

Indians  refrained  from  torturing  the  prisoners,  and 

•'  immediately  killed  those    whom   they  wished  to 

kill."     These   and    other  similar  attacks  broke  up 

the  settlements  in  Maine  east  of  Casco  Bay. 

Frontenac  now  planned  three  expeditions  against 
the  English  colonies— one  from  Montreal  to  devas- 
tate New  York,  one  from  Three  Rivers  to  destroy 
the  New  Hampshire  towns,  and  one  from  Quebec 
to  make  a  descent  on  Maine. 

The  Montreal  party  of  two  hundred  and  ten  was 
about  half  Frenchmen,  bush-rangers  largely,  and  the 
other  half-converted  Iroquois  who  had  settled  near 
Montreal.  They  were  reluctant  allies  against  their 
heathen  kindred,  but  more  than  willing  to  fight  the 
English.  The  party  was  led  by  Mantet  and  Sainte 
Hel^ne,  and  accompanied  by  Iberville. 

They  marched  in  the  dead  of  winter  through  the 


84 


KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


[1690. 


forests  and  up   the   frozen  streams,   drawing  their 
provisions   on   sledges.     When  they  reached  Lake 
Champlain,  the  Indians  asked  where  they  were  go- 
ing.    "  To  Albany."     The  Indians  laughed  at  the 
idea  of  attempting  Albany  with  such  a  force,  and 
advised  a  descent  on   Schenectady,  or  Corlaer,  as 
the  French  called  it,  from  Anthony  Van  Curler,  its 
founder.     The  leaders    assented,   and  after  a  slow 
and  painful  march,  the  party  reached  the  Mohawk 
River  near  the  village. 

There  were  dissensions  in  New  York  at  this  time 
between  the  followers  of  Leisler  and  the  opposing 
party,  and   Schenectady  was  divided  by  the  feud. 
The  chief  magistrate,  John  Alexander  Glen,  often 
called   Captain    Sander,   and  Lieutenant   Talmage, 
who  was  in  command  of  a  small  party  of  Connecti- 
cut militia  at  the  block-house,  were  opposed  to  Leis- 
ler, whom  most  of  the  citizens  of  Schenectady  fa- 
vored.    For  this  reason  they  laughed  at  the  magis- 
trate and  the  lieutenant,  who  urged  them  to  guard 
against  surprise  and  be  prepared  for  defence.     They 
left  the  gates  of  the  city  open,  and  set  up  images  of 
snow  for  sentinels. 

The  French  and  Indians  entered  the  village  about 
eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  Feb.  8th,  1690,  and 
formed  a  line  within  the  palisades  and  around  the 
houses,  completely  enclosing  them.  Then  they  raised 


r 


[1690. 

zing  their 
hed  Lake 
T  were  go- 
led  at  the 
force,  and 
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Curler,  its 
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e  Mohawk 


t  this  time 
I  opposing 

the  feud. 
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T  aim  age, 
■  Connecti- 
led  to  Leis- 
nectady  fa- 
the  magis- 
m  to  guard 
nee.  They 
p  images  of 


illage  about 

1,  1690,  and 

around  the 

n  they  raised 


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idgo.J 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR, 


85 


the  war-whoop,  the  first  intimation  of  their  presence 
to  the  villagers.  The  doors  of  the  houses  were  bat- 
tered down,  and  the  wretched  inhabitants  brained 
at  once  with  the  tomahawk,  or  reserved  for  a  more 
horrible  fate.  Sixty  were  killed,  of  whom  twelve 
were  children.  Some  fled  through  the  eastern  gate 
toward  Albany  and  found  shelter,  many  of  them 
with  limbs  frozen  by  exposure  to  the  excessive  cold. 

The  next  day  a  party  went  to  the  house  of  the 
magistrate,  Glen,  across  the  river.  He  was  prepared 
for  defence ;  but  they  assured  him  they  had  orders 
not  to  harm  him  or  any  one  belonging  to  him.  He 
had  several  times  saved  French  captives  by  his  influ- 
ence with  the  Iroquois,  and  the  officers  in  return  for 
this  service  allowed  him  to  take  all  his  relatives 
from  among  the  prisoners.  He  naturally  found  a 
great  many — so  many  as  to  make  the  surly  savages 
grumble  at  the  great  extent  of  his  family  connec- 
tion. 

The  village  was  fired,  and  not  more  than  half  a 
dozen  of  the  eighty  houses  escaped  the  flames. 
Twenty-seven  prisoners  were  carried  away,  as  well 
as  a  large  number  of  horses  and  other  plunder  ;  and 
not  more  than  one  sixth  of  the  inhabitants  of  Sche- 
nectady  remained  unhurt.  About  thirty  Mohawks 
in  the  town  were  carefully  spared  by  the  French, 
who  were  fully  awake  to  the  importance  of  appeas- 


86 


KIaWG    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


[1690. 


ing  the  Five  Nations  and  cultivating  their  friend- 
ship. 

The  party  from  Three  Rivers,  numbering  about 
fifty,  fell  upon  the  town  of  Salmon  Falls,  on  the 
Piscataqua,  March  27th.  It  had  two  forts,  but  nei- 
ther had  placed  sentinels.  The  scenes  of  the  Sche- 
nectady massacre  were  re-enacted  ;  thirty-foyr  were 
killed,  and  over  fifty  taken,  some  of  whom  were  tor- 
tured on  the  retreat.  The  French  were  pursued  by 
a  small  party  from  Piscataqua,  and  r.fter  a  skirmish 
at  a  bridge  over  Wooster  River,  in  which  the  pursu- 
ers lost  a  few  men,  went  on  to  join  the  war-party 
from  Quebec. 

This  party,  under  an  officer  named  Portneuf, 
numbered  nearly  five  hundred,  after  being  joined  by 
some  Indians  under  St.  Castin  and  the  men  from 
Three  Rivers.  They  were  on  their  way  to  the  settle- 
ment at  Casco  Bay,  near  the  present  city  of  Portland. 
The  place  was  defended  by  a  fort  and  four  block- 
houses, and  had  about  one  hundred  defenders  under 
the  command  of  Sylvanus  Davis.  Thirty  of  his 
men  went  out  against  the  enemy,  contrary  to  ^his 
orders,  and  all  but  four  lost  their  lives.  After  a 
siege  of  four  days.  Fort  Loyal  surrendered  on  condi- 
tion of  liberty  to  the  garrison  and  a  guard  to  the 
nearest  English  town — all  of  which,  according  to  the 
account  of  Captain  Davis,  was  solemnly  promised 


y 


r 


y 


1690.] 


AT/JVC    IV/LLIAM'S    IVAH. 


87 


T 


1 


\ 


and  sworn  by  the  French  leader.  Nevertheless, 
they  were  given  to  the  Indians  as  soon  as  they  had 
laid  down  their  arms  and  left  the  fort  ;  and  when 
they  protested  were  told  they  deserved  no  quarter, 
because  they  were  rebels  against  their  rightful  king, 
James  II.  The  Indians  murdered  some,  and  carried 
away  the  rest.  The  fort  and  town  were  burned, 
and  the  dead  left  unburied. 

These  successes  of  the  French  carried  courage  and 
enthusiasm  to  Canada,  and  aroused  the  English  colo- 
nies to  action.  It  was  resolved,  at  a  congresiJ  held 
in  New  York  in  May,  that  a  land  force  should  march 
on  Montreal,  while  a  fleet  should  be  sent  from  Bos- 
ton to  capture  Quebec. 

Massachusetts  had  just  fitted  out  seven  vessels 
and  seven  or  eight  hundred  men,  and  placed  them 
under  the  command  of  Sir  William  Phips,  to  attack 
Port  Royal  in  Acadia.  It  was  a  harbor  for  French 
vessels  which  roamed  the  waters  and  preyed  on  New 
England  commerce,  and  a  place  of  stores  whence 
the  Indians  drew  their  supplies  of  arms  and  ammu- 
nition to  carry  on  the  border  warfare. 

Sir  William  Phips,  at  this  time  about  forty  years 
old,  had  had  an  adventurous  career.  Belonging  to 
a  family  of  twenty-six  children  reared  in  poverty 
and  ignorance  in  the  woods  of  Maine,  he  learned  to 
read  and  write  after  he  became  a  man.     His  boy- 


II 


) 


88 


A'/JVC    WILLIAM 'a    WAR. 


[1683. 


hood  was  spent  in  tending  sheep  ;  he  then  became 
apprentice  to  a  ship-carpenter,  in  whose  service  he 
spent  four  years.     When  he  vas  twenty-two  he  went 

'  to  Boston  and  married  a  widcvv  older  than  himself. 
She  had  some  property,  and  set  him  up  in  business  ; 
but  he  was  not  prosperous,  and  soon  lost  all  his  wife's 

,  capital.  He  was  not  discouraged,  but  began  to 
follow  the  sea,  and  often  told  his  wife  that  she  should 
yet  live  in  a  "  fair  brick  house  in  the  Green  Lane  of 
Boston."  The  Green  Lane  was  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  city,  and  was  occupied  by  well-to-do 
citizens.  In  1683,  Phips  heard  of  a  Spanish  ship 
which  had  been  wrecked  near  the  Bahama  Islands 
and  was  supposed  to  have  carried  down  with  it  a 
great  deal  of  gold  and  silver.  He  thought  a  swift 
and  easy  way  to  the  possession  of  the  "  fair  brick 
house"  would  be  to  bring  up  some  of  this  treasure 
from  the  sea,  and  accordingly  went  there  in  a  small 
vessel,  but  did  not  get  enough  to  pay  for  his  outlay. 
But  while  he  was  on  this  voyage  he  heard  of  another 
Spanish  galleon  which  had  been  wrecked  fifty  years 
before  somewhere  on  the  coast  of  the  West  Indies. 
There  was  a  tradition  that  this  ship  carried  down  a 
vast  amount  of  treasure,  but  no  attempt  had  been 
made  to  recover  it.  Undiscouraged  by  his  first  fail- 
ure, he  went  to  England,  and  succeeded  in  getting 
an  audience  of  the  King,  J ames  II.,  who  was  so  much 


1684.] 


KING    WILLIAM'S  WAR. 


89 


,il- 


impressed  by  the  scheme  that  he  appointed  Phips 
captain  of  a  ship  called  the  Rose  A /gier,  with  eighteen 
guns  and  ninety-five  men.  Two  years  were  spent 
in  the  West  Indies,  searching  for  the  wreck  without 
success.  The  sailors  were  discouraged,  organized  a 
mutiny,  and  arming  themselves  with  cutlasses,  came 
to  the  captain  and  demanded  that  he  should  turn 
pirate.  Phips,  as  brave  as  he  was  persevering,  fell 
upon  the  leaders  and  used  his  fists  so  vigorously 
that  he  knocked  down  several  of  them  and  awed  the 
rest  into  submission.  It  was  not  long  before  they 
made  another  attempt  ;  and  though  he  succeeded 
in  quelling  the  second  mutiny  also,  it  would  have 
been  dangerous  to  keep  such  a  crew  much  longer  on 
the  sea  ;  the  ship  was  old  and  leaky,  and  the  cap- 
tain thought  best  to  go  back  to  England.  But  be- 
fore he  went  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  find  an  old 
man  who  remembered  the  shipwreck,  and  told  him 
it  was  very  near  Porto  Plata,  on  the  northern  coast 
of  Santo  Domingo,  or  Hispaniola,  as  it  was  then 
called. 

Phips  returned  to  England  to  get  a  better  vessel 
and  crew.  The  King  had  lost  all  confidence  in  the 
scheme  and  would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  it  ; 
but  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  and  some  other  noble- 
men  fitted  out  a  ship  for  him,  and  he  sailed  for  Porto 
Plata,     Here  he  anchored,  and  built  a  large  boat  to 


90 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


[iC86. 


go  nearer  the  reef  where  the  wreck  was  said  to  have 
taken  place  than  the  ship  could  venture.  Taking 
some  skilful  Indian  divers  in  the  boat,  a  part  of  the 
crew  went  to  the  spot  and  examined  the  waters,  but 
could  see  nothing.  As  they  were  about  giving  up 
the  search,  one  of  the  sailors  noticed  through  the 
clear  water  a  beautiful  feathery  seaweed  growing 
from  a  rock  at  the  bottom.  He  told  one  of  the 
divers  to  bring  it  up  to  him  ;  and  when  the  diver 
came  up  with  the  plant  he  said  he  saw  some  great 
cannon  at  the  bottom.  This  was  enough.  The  gal- 
leon was  found.  The  divers  were  sent  down,  and 
the  first  one  that  rose  brought  a  lump  of  silver  worth 
nearly  two  hundred  pounds.  The  sailors  rowed  to 
the  ship,  and  showed  their  prize  to  the  captain. 
The  crew  all  went  to  work,  and  brought  up  gold  and 
silver  and  precious  stones,  bullion,  coin,  cups,  and 
sacramental  plate — to  the  value  of  three  hundred 
thousand  pounds.  It  is  said  that  a  captain  who  was 
with  Phips  lost  his  reason  at  the  sight  of  such  an 
amount  of  treasure. 

The  share  of  Captain  Phips  amounted  to  only  six- 
teen thousand  pounds.  But  this  was  enough  to  en- 
able him  to  live  in  style  in  Boston  in  those  days. 
The  Duke  of  Albemarle  sent  Mrs.  Phips  a  gold  cup 
valued  at  a  thousand  pounds,  and  the  King  con- 
ferred upon  Phips  the  honor  of  knighthood. 


1690.] 


KIXG    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


91 


To  Sir  William  Phips,  then,  who  had  become  a 
man  of  importance  in  the  colony,  was  encrusted  the 
command  of  the  expedition  against  Acadia,  and  he 
appeared  off  Port  Royal  on  the  •9th  of  May.  The 
fort  was  in  command  of  Meneval,  the  French  Gov- 
ernor, who  summoned  the  inhabitants  by  firing  a 
cannon  ;  but  only  three  of  them  came. 

The  next  day  Phips  entered  the  harbor  and  sum- 
moned the  commandant  to  surrender.  Meneval  sent 
Petit,  a  priest,  to  negotiate  ;  and  it  was  agreed  that 
the  troops,  consisting  of  seventy  men,  should  be 
sent  to  Quebec  or  to  France,  that  private  property 
should  be  respected,  that  the  inhabitants  be  left  in 
peaceable  possession  of  their  lands  and  the  free  exer- 
cise of  their  religion,  and  that  the  church  should  not 
be  injured. 

While  Meneval  was  on  board  the  flag-ship  arrang- 
ing the  terms,  some  of  the  soldiers  and  citizens  of 
Port  Royal  broke  into  a  storehouse  and  carried  off 
a  quantity  of  goods,  which  they  hid  in  the  woods  ; 
and  Phips  made  this  a  pretext  for  violating  all,  or 
nearly  all,  the  terms  of  the  capitulation.  He  al- 
lowed his  soldiers  to  break  into  the  church,  cut  down 
the  cross,  and  shatter  the  ornaments  of  the  altar. 
The  houses  of  the  priests  were  plundered  ;  and  they, 
together  with  Meneval  and  fifty-nine  of  the  soldiers, 
were  carried  to  Boston  and  imprisoned. 


1     I 

i   1 
t 


92 


A^/JVG    WILLIAM'S    WAK. 


[1690. 


The  inhabitants  were  called  together  and  asked  to 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  William  and  Mary  ; 
most  of  them  did  so,  and  were  left  unmolested  ;  but 
a  few  refused,  and  their  houses  were  pillaged. 
Phips  organized  a  temporary  government,  with  a 
sergeant  of  the  garrison  at  the  head  of  it,  and  a 
council  of  six  chosen  from  among  the  inhabitants. 
They  were  instructed  to  govern  the  place  for  the 
King  of  England,  and  to  allow  liberty  in  matters  of 
religion. 

Meneval  gave  his  money  and  personal  effects  to 
Phips  for  safe  keeping  ;  but  when  he  wanted  them 
returned,  Phips  refused,  and  Meneval  petitioned  the 
Governor  and  Council  at  Boston  to  order  Phips  to 
restore  them.  They  did  so,  but  Phips  paid  no  at- 
tention to  it.  Then  Governor  Bradstreet  wrote  to 
him,  commanding  him  to  comply  immediately  with 
the  order,  and  Phips  reluctantly  gave  up  some  of 
the  money  and  some  of  the  poorest  articles  of  cloth- 
ing, but  kept  the  greater  part  of  the  articles,  which 
Meneval  thus  enumerated  :  "  Six  silver  spoons,  six 
silver  forks,  one  silver  cup  in  the  shape  of  a  gondola, 
a  pair  of  pistols,  three  new  wigs,  a  gray  vest,  four  / 
pair  of  silk  garters,  two  dozen  shirts,  six  vests  of 
dimity,  four  night-caps  with  lace  edging,  all  my 
table-service  of  fine  tin,  all  my  table  linen,"  etc. 

Before  returning  to  Boston,  Phips  sent  Captain 


M 


1690.] 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


93 


Alden  to  take  La  Heve  and  Chedabucto.  He  car- 
ried to  Boston  twenty-one  pieces  of  ordnance,  and  a 
sum  of  money  belonging  to  the  King,  besides  the 
plunder  taken  from  private  individuals.  Alden,  who 
had  captured  the  two  places  without  much  trouble, 
brought  a  large  quantity  of  goods  belonging  to  the 
fishing  company. 

A  few  days  after  their  departure,  a  French  ship, 
the  Union,  arrived  at  Port  Royal  with  goods,  provis- 
ions, arms,  ammunition,  and  presents  for  the  Ind- 
ians, to  ensure  their  continued  loyalty  to  France. 
On  board  were  some  recruits  for  the  garrison,  an 
ofificer  of  engineers  named  Saccardie,  and  Meneval's 
brother,  Villebon,  who  had  been  in  Acadia  before, 
and  now  came  to  lead  the  Indians  against  the  Eng- 
lish. When  he  found  what  had  befallen  the  settle- 
ments of  Acadia,  Villebon  determined  to  go  to  the 
River  St.  John,  and  occupy  the  fort  at  Gemseg,  and 
accordingly  crossed  over,  leaving  orders  for  the 
Union  to  follow. 

No  sooner  had  he  gone  than  two  pirate  ships  ap- 
peared. Finding  the  town  undefended,  the  crews 
landed,  seized  all  they  could  carry  away,  and  burned 
sixteen  houses.  They  hanged  two  men,  and  taking 
the  Union  and  her  cargo,  sailed  off  with  Perrot,  a 
trader,  and  Saccardie  the  engineer,  after  having  tor- 
tured Perrot  to  make  him  tell  where  he  had  hidden  his 


I! 


94 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


[169a 


!  I 


M 


money.  When  Villebon  learned  of  the  disaster,  he 
returned  to  Fort  Gemseg,  and  told  the  Indians  that 
the  English  had  stolen  their  presents,  but  that  he 
was  going  to  France  to  get  them  much  nicer  ones, 
and  exhorted  them  to  be  faithful  to  the  French,  to 
keep  up  the  war,  and  to  be  ready  to  go  with  him 
the  following  spring.  He  then  went  to  Quebec  to 
sail  for  France. 

When  Phips  returned  to  Boston,  preparations  for 
an  attack  on  Canada  were  already  far  advanced. 
Aid  was  sought  from  England  ;  but  everything  there 
was  concentrated  on  the  struggle  in  Ireland  with  the 
adherents  of  James  II.,  and  the  colonists  were  left 
to  fight  it  out  alone.  The  plan  was,  to  march  a 
land  force  under  General  Winthrop  against  Mont- 
real, while  a  fleet  was  to  sail  from  Boston  for  the 
capture  of  Quebec.  Thirty-four  ships,  the  largest 
of  which  carried  forty-four  guns,  were  made  ready 
and  manned  with  two  thousand  two  hundred  sailors 
and  militia,  undr  the  command  of  Major  John 
Walley.  The  success  of  Phips  in  Acadia  led  to  his 
appointment  as  commander  of  the  expedition. 

The  force  destined  for  Montreal  set  out  from 
Albany  much  reduced  by  sickness  and  the  with- 
drawal of  the  militia  of  the  eastern  colonies,  made 
necessary  by  attacks  on  the  border  settlements. 
Bands  of  Indians  from  eastern  New  York  gathered 


•I  i 


1690.] 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


95 


at  Albany  to  join  the  expedition,  and  those  of  the 
west  were  to  be  in  readiness  on  Lake  Champlain. 
But  before  they  were  prepared,  the  season  was  far 
advanced  ;  the  work  of  making  canoes  was  stopped 
by  the  want  of  birch-bark,  and  it  was  too  late  in  the 
season  for  elm-bark  to  be  made  available.  The  ad- 
herents of  the  two  factions  in  New  York  politics 
quarrelled  with  each  other  and  with  the  Connecticut 
soldiers  ;  the  supplies  were  insufficient  ;  and  the 
Indians  of  the  western  tribes  failed  to  keep  their 
engagement. 

Captain  John  Schuyler  was  in  advance  with  less 
than  two  hundred  men,  pushing  on  down  the  lake  ; 
but  Winthrop,  finding  it  impossible  to  do  anything 
with  the  disorderly  forces  of  the  main  body, 
marched  them  back  to  Albany. 

Frontenac  had  prepared  for  the  expected  attack 
by  strengthening  the  stockade  forts  along  the  Upper 
St.  Lawrence,  and  holding  a  great  council  with  the 
Indians  who  came  down  from  the  Upper  Lakes  to 
trade.  He  was  now  seventy  years  old  ;  but,  bran- 
dishing a  tomahawk  about  his  head,  he  danced  the 
war-dance  and  sang  the  war-song,  arousing  the  Ind- 
ians to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement  and  enthusi- 
asm. 

Schuyler  arrived  just  after  Frontenac  had  gone  to 
protect  the  other  settlements.     The  Indians,  who 


I      ! 


ft 


96 


KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


[1690. 


formed  the  greater  part  of  his  band,  refused  to 
attack  the  fort  ;  and  so  the  extent  of  the  operations 
was  the  destruction  of  houses,  harvests,  and  cattle, 
and  the  killing  or  capture  of  twenty-five  settlers. 
Thus  the  land  expedition  of  the  English  was  worse 
than  a  failure.  It  accomplished  nothing  ;  it  stained 
their  record  by  the  use  of  the  Indian  method  of  at- 
tack on  peaceful  settlers  ;  and  it  tended  to  bring 
them  into  contempt  with  their  savage  allies. 

After  a  long  delay,  the  fleet  under  Sir  William 
Phips  was  prepared  to  sail  from  Boston.  The 
weather  was  unfavorable,  the  ocean  voyage  was 
long,  and  Phips  had  no  pilots  acquainted  with  the 
St.  Lawrence.  So  slow  was  the  progress  of  the  fleet 
that  the  advantage  of  surprise  was  lost.  Two  small 
French  vessels  were  captured  on  the  way  ;  and  from 
information  obtained  from  them  in  regard  to  the 
state  of  the  defences  of  Quebec,  Phips  anticipated  a 
victory  as  easy  as  that  at  Port  Royal,. 

But  Frontenac  had  been  employed  during  the 
summer  in  building  palisades  on  the  undefended  side 
of  the  city  ;  and  Major  Provost,  who  commanded  in 
Quebec  during  his  absence  in  Montreal,  receiving 
timely  warning  of  the  departure  of  the  fleet  from 
Boston,  sent  word  to  Montreal,  and  hastened  to 
improve  the  defences  of  the  city  ;  the  gates  were 
barricaded,  cannon  mounted,  palisades  and    moats 


■  \ 


1690.] 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


97 


placed  wherever  they  were  needed,  and  batteries 
posted  in  the  lower  part  of  the  town  near  the  river. 
Frontenac  went  down  the  river  in  a  canoe  as  soon 
as  he  heard  of  the  danger  to  his  capital,  leaving 
orders  for  all  the  forces  at  Montreal  and  intervening 
points  to  gather  at  Quebec. 

On  the  5th  of  October  the  fleet  arrived  before 
Quebec,  and  Phips  demanded  a  surrender.  The 
messenger  was  blindfolded  and  led  by  two  officers 
in  a  roundabout  course,  followed  by  a  tumultuous 
and  jeering  mob.  When  the  bandage  was  taken 
from  his  eyes,  he  found  himself  in  the  presence  of 
the  Governor  and  his  superior  officers.  He  delivered 
his  letter  to  the  Governor  and  an  interpreter  trans- 
lated it  into  French.     The  letter  said  : 

"  The  war  between  the  crowns  of  England  and 
France  doth  not  only  sufficiently  warrant,  but  the 
destruction  made  by  the  French  and  Indians,  under 
your  command  and  encouragement,  upon  the  per- 
sons and  estates  of  their  Majesties'  subjects  of  New 
England,  without  provocation  on  their  part,  hath 
put  them  under  the  necessity  of  this  expedition  for 
their  own  security  and  satisfaction.  And  although 
the  cruelties  and  barbarities  used  against  them  by 
the  French  and  Indians  might,  upon  the  present 
opportunity,  prompt  unto  a  severe  revenge,  yet, 
being  desirous  to  avoid  all  inhumane  and  unchris- 


98 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


[1690. 


'  I 


tian-like  actions,  and  to  prevent  shedding  of  blood 
as  much  as  may  be, 

"  I,  the  aforesaid  William  Phips,  Knight,  do  here- 
by, in  the  name  and  in  the  behalf  of  their  most 
excellent  Majesties,  William  and  Mary,  King  and 
Queen  of  England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Ireland, 
Defenders  of  the  Faith,  and  by  order  of  their  said 
Majesties'  government  of  the  Massachusetts-colony 
in  New  England,  demand  a  present  surrender  of  your 
forts  and  castles,  undemolished,  and  the  King's  and 
other  stores,  unimbezzled,  with  a  seasonable  delivery 
of  all  captives,  together  with  a  surrender  of  all  your 
persons  and  estates  to  my  dispose  :  upon  the  doing 
whereof  you  may  expect  mercy  from  me,  as  a  Chris- 
tian, according  to  what  shall  be  found  for  their  Maj- 
esties' service  and  the  subjects'  security.  Which 
if  you  refuse  forthwith  to  do,  I  am  come  provided, 
and  am  resolved,  by  the  help  of  God,  in  whom  I 
trust,  by  force  of  arms  to  revenge  all  wrongs  and  in- 
juries offered,  and  bring  you  under  subjection  to  the 
crown  of  England,  and  when  too  late  make  you  wish 
you  had  accepted  of  the  favour  tendered. 

"  Your  answer  positive  in  an  hour,  returned  by 
your  own  trumpet,  with  the  return  of  mine,  is  re- 
quired upon  the  peril  that  will  ensue." 

When  the  reading  of  the  letter  was  finished,  the 
messenger  reminded    Frontenac    that    it   was    ten 


1690.] 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


99 


o'clock,  and  his  answer  must  be  given  by  eleven. 
The  French  officers  exclaimed  at  the  impudence  of 
the  demand,  and  some  of  them  said  Frontenac 
ought  to  hang  the  messenger  of  such  a  pirate  as 
Phips  had  shown  himself  to  be.  Frontenac  told  the 
messenger  that  he  need  not  wait  so  long  for  his 
answer  ;  that  he  did  not  acknowledge  William  of 
Orange  as  King  of  England,  knowing  no  King  of 
England  but  King  James  ;  that  the  King  of  France 
was  about  to  restore  King  James  to  his  throne  ;  and 
that  his  subjects  in  Canada  were  prepared  to  make 
war  on  the  English  colonists,  who  were  rebels 
against  their  lawful  sovereign.  He  alluded  to  the 
violation  by  Phips  of  his  agreement  at  Port  Royal, 
and  said,  "  I  will  answer  your  master  only  by  the 
mouths  of  my  cannon,  and  he  shall  learh  that  I  am 
not  to  be  summoned  in  this  way  to  surrendc." 

The  officer  was  led  back  blindfolded,  as  he  had 
come,  and  when  Frontenac's  answer  was  received, 
Phips  held  a  council,  at  which  it  was  decided  to 
make  a  combined  attack  by  land  and  sea.  Major 
Walley,  with  a  force  of  militia,  was  to  be  landed 
above  the  St.  Charles  at  Beauport,  to  ford  the  river, 
and  climb  to  the  rear  of  the  town  by  the  heights  of 
St.  Genevieve.  Several  of  the  smaller  vessels  were 
to  support  the  land  soldiers  by  ascending  the  St. 
Charles  with  provisions  and  ammunition,  and  assist 


r-l 


100 


X'/NG   WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


[i6go. 


L, 
■  1 

i 

! 

I  ■ 


in  the  attack  with  their  guns.  Then  the  larger 
vessels  were  to  assail  the  city  from  the  St.  Lawrence 
side,  and  land  a  part  of  the  troops  to  storm  the  de- 
fences. 

Two  days  passed  before  it  seemed  best  to  the 
English  to  begin  carrying  out  the  plan.  While  they 
were  waiting,  the  forces  which  Frontenac  had  or- 
dered from  Montreal  arrived,  under  the  command  of 
Calli^res,  so  that  the  number  of  troops  reached  about 
three  thousand.  The  city  was  full,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Lower  Town  having  taken  shelter  in  the  con- 
vent, the  hospital,  and  the  seminary  of  the  Upper 
Town.  Provisions  were  low,  and  there  was  danger 
of  famine  if  the  siege  should  be  long  continued. 
Masses  were  constantly  offered,  a  picture  of  the 
Holy  Family  was  hung  on  the  cathedral  spire,  and 
the  nuns  kept  up  an  unbroken  stream  of  prayer  to 
the  Virgin  and  all  the  sa'nts  for  the  deliverance  of 
the  city. 

At  length  on  the  8th,  at  noon,  boats  were  sent 
out  to  Beauport,  below  the  St.  Charles,  carrying 
Major  Walley  with  about  twelve  hundred  men. 
Having  landed,  they  began  their  march,  but  had 
not  gone  far  when  they  were  assailed  from  the  woods 
and  thickets  by  a  band  of  French  and  Indians  under 
Sainte  H61^ne.  Walley's  men  charged  bravely  on 
them,  and  they  retreated,  but  kept  up  a  continual 


i6go.] 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


lOI 


fire  from  behind  the  rocks  and  trees  as  they  went, 
sending  confusion  into  the  ranks  of  the  English. 
Walley  drew  his  forces  together  and  encamped,  in 
expectation  of  the  ships  which  were  to  support  him. 

Without  waiting  till  Walley  was  in  full  readiness 
to  climb  the  heights  in  the  rear  and  co-operate  with 
the  attack  from  the  fleet,  Phips  rushed  on  with  his 
larger  ships  and  drew  them  up  before  the  town.  He 
was  greeted  by  a  shot  from  the  Cheiteau  St.  Louis, 
and  at  once  opened  with  all  his  cannon.  A  rapid 
firing  ensued  on  both  sides,  which  was  kept  up  until 
nightfall.  Comparatively  little  damage  was  done 
by  the  English  ;  their  guns  were  not  charged  heavily 
enough  with  powder  to  give  the  balls  much  effect, 
and  their  gunnery  was  poor.  Many  of  the  balls 
struck  the  wall  of  rock,  and  many  of  those  that 
reached  the  town  had  spent  their  force  and  failed  to 
pierce  the  walls.  The  fire  from  the  town  was  more 
effective  ;  but  Phips  only  waited  till  morning  to 
renew  the  attack. 

The  next  day  the  troops  in  the  town  were  refe'n- 
forced  by  the  detachment  which  had  been  sent  out 
against  Walley 's  party  ;  and  under  the  direction  of 
Sainte  H61^ne  the  guns  of  the  batteries  in  the 
tower  Town  were  aimed  against  the  fleet  with  good 
effect.  All  the  ships  were  before  the  town  ;  for 
those  that  should  have  gone  to  the  aid  of  Walley 


103 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR, 


[169a 


were  afraid  to  expose  themselves  to  the  danger ; 
and  there  was  no  central  command  strong  enough 
to  enforce  obedience  —  if,  indeed,  anything  was 
thought  of  at  the  head  of  the  fleet  except  the  busi- 
ness immediately  in  hand.  A  few  pieces  of  cannon 
and  a  little  powder  and  food  were  sent  to  the  shore, 
but  Walley  received  no  other  assistance. 

The  ships  were  at  length  disabled  by  the  fire 
and  were  drawn  off  beyond  the  reach  of  the  guns 
of  the  town.  The  attack  by  water  had  proved  a 
miserable  failure ;  and  Walley  was  too  poorly  sup- 
ported to  effect  anything  by  land.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  loth,  the  day  after  the  repulse  of  the 
fleet,  he  went  to  consult  with  Sir  William  Phips. 
During  his  absence  his  men  advanced  to  cross  the 
St.  Charles  and  make  an  attack,  but  were  met  by 
a  party  under  Sainte  Hei^ne  and  driven  back  with 
loss.  Walley  returned  with  orders  to  take  them  to 
the  fleet,  and  boats  were  sent  in  the  night,  in  which 
they  were  to  embark  the  following  night. 

During  the  nth,  another  skirmish  took  place, 
with  about  the  same  result.  Walley's  troops  fought 
courageously,  but  were  too  poorly  disciplined  to 
fight  with  advantage  ;  while  the  French  and  Indians 
fired  from  behind  rocks  and  trees  and  farm-houses. 
Walley  withdrew,  and  as  soon  as  darkness  came  on 
embarked   his   troops  in  the  boats   and  joined  the 


1690.] 


KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


103 


fleet.  As  the  ships  were  disabled,  and  the  stock  of 
ammunition  low,  the  undertaking  was  now  aban- 
doned, and  the  fleet  dropped  down  below  the  Island 
of  Orleans,  where  it  stopped  for  repairs.  After  an 
exchange  of  prisoners,  the  vessels  made  their  way  t 
slowly  homeward. 

While  Phips  was  on  his  way  down  the  river,  three 
ships  arrived  from  France  bringing  money  and  stores 
to  Quebec,  and  ran  up  the  Saguenay.  Phips  at- 
tempted to  capture  them,  but  failed.  He  reached 
Boston  in  five  or  six  weeks  ;  some  of  his  vessels  were 
more  than  three  months  on  the  way,  and  several — 
as  many  as  nine,  by  some  accounts — were  wrecked. 

This  miserable  outcome  of  an  expedition  from 
which  so  much  had  been  hoped,  carried  dismay  and 
foreboding  to  the  New  England  colonies.  In  Que- 
bec there  was  great  rejoicing  when  the  fleet  dis- 
appeared down  the  river,  marred  only  by  the  fear 
that  the  ships  from  France  might  be  surprised  on 
the  way  and  captured.  When  they  arrived  in  safety, 
the  general  joy  knew  no  bounds.  If  the  siege  had 
been  prolonged,  the  city  would  have  suffered  from 
famine  and  perhaps  been  forced  at  last  to  surrender  ; 
for  the  warning  had  not  been  long  enough  to  give 
time  for  providing  food  for  the  great  number  that 
were  gathered  in  the  capital,  and  the  supplies  from 
France  had  not  arrived. 


111.. 


; 


104 


KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


[1690. 


A  procession  was  formed,  which  carried  the  image 
of  the  Virgin  to  every  church  and  chapel  in  turn, 
with  appropriate  ceremonies  ;  Te  Deum  was  sung  in 
the  cathedral ;  and  the  banner  bearing  the  cross  of  St. 
George,  which  had  waved  at  the  mast-head  of  Phips's 
vessel,  and  was  shot  away  by  one  of  Sainte  H61^ne's 
cannon,  was  picked  up  from  the  river  where  it  had 
fallen,  and  carried  to  the  cathedral,  where  it  hung 
for  years.  Frontenac  sent  the  news  to  France, 
urging  the  Government  at  the  same  time  to  provide 
troops  for  the  complete  conquest  of  New  York  and 
New  England  ;  and  a  medal  in  honor  of  the  victory 
was  struck  in  Paris. 


n 


i  l!H 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CLOSE   OF  KING  WILLIAM'S  WAR. 

Attacks  on  Wells  and  York— Fort  Built  at  Pemaquid— Attempt  to 
take  it— Plan  to  Attack  Quebec— Proposed  Exchange  of  Prisoners 
—Oyster  River  Assailed— Schuyler  at  La  Prairie— Invasion  of  the 
Mohawk  Country— Treachery  of  Chubb  at  Pemaquid— Destruction 
of  the  Fort— Church  and  Hathorn  on  the  St.  John— Haverhill— 
French  Plan  for  the  Capture  of  Boston— Iberville  in  Newfound- 
land and  al  Hudson  Bay — Frontenac  among  the  Iroquois — The 
Peace  of  Ryswick — Deaths  of  Frontenac  and  Villeboi. 

The  English  made  no  attempt  to  secure  their 
conquest  in  Acadia,  and  Villebon  was  appointed 
Governor  by  the  French  Government  and  instructed 
to  lavish  presents  on  the  Indians  and  keep  them  and 
the  French  constantly  engaged  in  war.  All  supplies 
would  be  sent  from  France,  so  that  none  of  the  men 
need  be  kept  at  home  for  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

The  vessel  which  took  Villebon  to  Acadia  cap- 
tured Colonel  Edward  Tyng,  who  had  been  sent  from 
Massachusetts  as  Governor  of  Port  Royal,  and  John 
Nelson,  who  was  going  with  him.  Nelson  inherited 
a  claim  to  Acadia,  from  his  uncle,  Sir  Thomas  Tem- 
ple, to  whom  Cromwell  had  made  a  large  grant,  and 
he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  country  and  the 


'1^ 


io6 


CLOSE   OF  KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


[1692, 


!  i 


I         i 


1  i 

!    I 

I     :• 

T    r 

I        : 
\ 


i     I 


language  of  the  Indians.  He  and  Tyng  were  taken 
to  Quebec. 

Villebon  took  possession  of  Port  Royal  without 
opposition,  and  administered  to  the  colonists  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  sovereign  of  France.  He 
established  himself  at  Fort  Gemseg  on  the  St.  John, 
and  set  about  the  work  of  inciting  the  Indians  to 
war.  A  chief  named  Moxus  had  already  attacked 
Wells  with  two  hundred  Indians,  and  had  been  re- 
pelled by  the  garrison  under  Captain  Converse. 
Seconded  by  the  priest  Thury,  Villebon  persuaded 
the  Indians  to  form  a  great  war-party,  though  some 
who  had  signed  a  truce  with  the  English  were  re- 
luctant. 

They  set  out  in  January,  1692,  and  marched  a 
month  over  icy  streams  and  through  bare  forests  to 
southwestern  Maine.  On  the  night  of  Feb.  4th,  they 
encamped  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Agamenticus,  and 
in  the  morning  moved  cautiously  to  the  village 
of  York.  They  caught  a  boy  cutting  wood  in  a 
forest,  forced  information  from  him,  murdered  him, 
and  pushed  on.  Dividing  into  two  parties,  they 
began  their  work  at  a  signal.  There  were  five  forti- 
fied houses,  having  projecting  upper  stories  with 
loop-holes  for  guns.  One  was  taken  at  the  first  as- 
sault. The  unprotected  dwellings  were  attacked, 
and  all  their  inmates  who  did  not  escape  to  the  for- 


!  i 


1692.]         CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


107 


tified  houses  were  slaii.  or  taken  captive.  The 
minister,  Mr.  Dummer,  was  shot  at  his  own  door  as 
he  was  about  to  mount  his  horse  to  visit  a  parish- 
ioner. After  unsuccessfully  attacking  the  othr-  four 
fortified  houses,  the  party  withdrew  with  eighty 
prisoners,  having  killed  nearly  a  hundred. 

In  June  of  the  same  year,  an  attack  on  Wells,  by 
about  four  hundred  Indians,  was  a  complete  failure. 
The  Indians  attempted  to  fire  some  ships  lying  in 
the  river,  by  means  of  a  burning  raft,  but  it  ran 
aground.  The  French  officers  tried  to  induce  them 
to  make  a  regular  assault  on  the  fort  ;  but  they 
carried  it  on  in  their  own  fashion,  with  a  tremen- 
dous amount  of  noise  and  desultory  firing.  The  men 
in  the  fort  held  out  bravely  ;  the  women  loaded 
their  guns,  and  some  fired  ;  Converse  answered  defi- 
antly every  summons  to  surrender  ;  and  the  Indians 
were  glad  to  draw  off  with  one  prisoner,  after  burn- 
ing the  church  and  the  deserted  houses.  Villebon 
consoled  some  who  lived  near  his  fort  with  a  pris- 
oner to  burn,  an  Indian  ally  of  the  English,  taken 
near  the  St.  John. 

During  the  summer.  Sir  William  Phips,  now  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts,  having  authority  to  rebuild 
the  fort  at  Pemaquid,  set  out  with  Benjamin 
Church,  noted  for  success  in  Indian  wars,  and  one 
hundred  workmen.     On    the  way  they  buried    the 


,Lf^ 


!  I 


xo8 


CLOSE   OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR,        [1692. 


dead  left  at  Casco  in  1690,  and  carried  the  cannon 
of  Fort  Loyal  with  them.  Phips  laid  the  founda- 
tions for  a  strong  fortress  of  stone,  and  left  the  men 
to  finish  it.  When  done,  it  was  the  best  fort  the 
English  had  in  America  ;  the  front  wall  was  twenty- 
two  feet  high,  and  the  great  round  tower  at  the 
southwestern  corner  twenty-nine  feet  high.  Eigh- 
teen guns  were  mounted,  and  sixty  men  placed  in  it 
as  a  garrison.     Phips  named  it  Fort  William  Henry. 

Madockawando,  the  Indian  father-in-law  of  the 
Baron  de  St.  Castin,  had  gone  to  Quebec  to  carry 
to  Frontenac  the  news  of  the  building  of  this  fort, 
and  Frontenac  resolved  to  drive  the  English  away 
at  once  before  it  should  be  completed.  He  had  two 
ships  of  war,  and  arranged  that  they  should  sail  with 
about  four  hundred  men,  take  in  as  many  more  as 
they  could  get  at  Villebon's  fort  and  Pentagoet,  and 
then  capture  Pemaquid  and  destroy  the  settlements 
along  the  coast  of  the  present  States  of  Maine  and 
New  Hampshire. 

John  Nelson  was  still  a  prisoner  in  Quebec  when 
Madockawando  came  with  his  intelligence,  but  was 
treated  as  a  guest  by  Frontenac,  and  had  apart- 
ments at  the  Chateau  St.  Louis.  He  discovered 
that  an  expedition  was  on  foot,  and,  through  his 
knowledge  of  the  Indian  language  spoken  by  the 
chief,  and  in  other  ways,  he  managed  to  get  some 


n 


IBMJw'lf  llll*|l.>l'^lii| 


1693.] 


CLOSE   OF  KING    WILLIAM'S    VVAK. 


109 


information  as  to  the  details.  He  bribed  two 
French  soldiers  to  desert,  and  carry  a  letter  to  Bos- 
ton. A  ship  of  war  was  at  once  sent  from  Boston 
to  the  defence  of  Pemaquid,  which  was  not  yet 
finished,  and  when  the  French  vessels  arrived,  and 
found  the  place  thus  defended,  they  gave  up  the 
enterprise  without  attempting  to  strike  a  blow. 
Iberville,  who  commanded  the  expedition,  was  cen- 
sured severely  by  Frontenac,  and  the  Indians  were 
so  indignant  that  they  threatened  to  break  their 
alliance  with  the  French. 

The  colonists,  harassed  continually  by  the  Ind- 
ians, their  border  settlements  broken  up,  their  har- 
vests  and  cattle  destroyed  by  these  sly  and  faithless 
hordes,  whom  no  treaties  could  hold,  made  repeated 
applications  to  England  for  help  ;  and  at  length 
a  plan  was  formed.  A  fleet  under  Sir  Francis 
Wheeler  was  to  be  sent  to  Martinique,  and  after 
service  there  was  to  go  to  Boston,  take  on  as  many 
troops  as  the  colonies  should  have  been  able  to  raise, 
and  proceed  to  Quebec  ;  the  troops  to  be  under  the 
command  of  Sir  William  Phips.  But  the  attack  on 
Martinique  was  a  failure.  Six  hundred  of  the  men 
were  killed,  and  three  hundred  taken  prisoners. 
Half  of  the  sailors  and  three  fourths  of  the  soldiers 
died  of  yellow  fever  before  the  fleet  reached  Bos- 
ton, and   the  epidemic  was   carried  into   the  city. 


no 


CLOSE   OF  KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


[1693. 


i      ;! 


i     !! 


%  lit 
MM 

ilHi; 


The  design  of  an  attack  on  Quebec  was  then  neces- 
sarily abandoned. 

The  English  made  a  treaty  with  the  eastern  Ind- 
'  ians,  supposing  that  all  the  tribes  were  represent- 
ed ;  but  Villebon,  who  had  built  a  fort  on  the  St, 
John  nearly  opposite  the  site  of  Fredericton,  Fort 
Naxouat,  took  measures  to  stir  them  up  to  break 
the  treaty.  Taxus,  a  chief  friendly  to  the  French, 
was  honored  and  feasted  at  the  fort,  and  Villebon 
gave  him  his  best  coat.  He  sent  presents  and  am- 
munition to  be  distributed  among  the  various  tribes  ; 
and,  what  was  of  vastly  greater  importance  to  the 
French  cause,  he  set  on  the  Jesuits — Vincent  Bigot 
on  the  Kennebec  and  Pierre  Thury  on  the  Penob- 
scot— to  incite  their  converts  to  the  work. 

Their  plans  were  nearly  defeated  by  tidings  that 
the  English  were  going  to  exchange  prisoners  at 
Pemaquid,  according  to  the  treaty  ;  for  the  French 
had  told  them  the  English  were  trying  to  entrap 
them.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  cunning  of  Thury, 
the  Indians,  or  a  large  part  of  them,  would  have 
gone  to  their  homes  from  the  Penobscot,  where  they 
had  been  gathered  by  St.  Castin  and  Villieu  who 
had  been  appointed  to  lead  them.  But  Thury  pri- 
vately told  those  chiefs  who  had  not  been  present  at 
the  conference  with  the  English,  that  Madocka- 
wando  and  the  others  had  taken  altogether  too  much 


l;i: 


[1693. 
ti  neces- 

ern  Ind- 
present- 
the  St. 
on,  Fort 
to  break 
French, 
Villebon 
and  am- 
s  tribes ; 
e  to  the 
int  Bigot 
:  Penob- 

ngs  that 

ioners  at 

e  French 

o  entrap 

f  Thury, 

uld  have 

lere  they 

ieu  who 

hury  pri- 

resent  at 

^adocka- 

:oo  much 


1694.] 


CLOSE   OJf  KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


Ill 


on  themselves,  and  assumed  too  much  importance 
in  making  a  treaty  without  their  concurrence.  This 
was  enough  ;  their  jealousy  was  aroused,  they  were 
all  for  war,  and  Madockawando  and  some  of  his 
followers  who  still  held  out  were  at  length  persuad- 
ed, at  a  dog-feast  given  by  Villieu,  by  means  of  the 
presents  of  the  French  and  the  jeers  of  their  savage 
companions. 

About  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  them  set  out  in 
canoes  for  Piscataqua.  At  Pemaquid,  Villieu,  dis- 
guised as  an  Indian,  landed  with  a  few  savages  and 
went  to  the  fort,  carrying  some  furs  to  trade  to  the 
soldiers.  Leaving  the  Indians  to  make  the  bargain, 
he  walked  away  unobserved,  studied  the  plan  of  the 
fort,  and  made  a  drawing  of  it. 

At  the  village  of  Oyster  River,  now  Durham,  in 
New  Hampshire,  the  Indians  took  five  of  the  twelve 
fortified  houses  ;  three  families  escaped,  but  two 
were  slaughtered.  The  seven  other  houses  were 
resolutely  defended.  The  owner  of  one  of  these, 
Thomas  Bickford,  placed  his  family  in  a  boat  and 
sent  them  down  the  stream  ;  then  he  went  back  to 
his  house,  and  by  keeping  up  a  constant  firing,  now 
from  one  point  and  now  from  another,  shouting 
orders  as  if  to  his  garrison,  and  giving  the  assailants 
glimpses  of  him  in  different  clothing  at  different 
parts  of  the  house,  he  defended  the  place  success- 


112 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


[1691. 


»  i 


I      ! 


1  I 


n  ! 

i'  ii! 

Ii  I 


nil! 


1 ! 


fully  alone,  and  saved  his  house  and  his  whole  fam- 
ily. About  one  hundred  persons  were  killed,  and 
twenty-seven  carried  away.  After  mass  had  been 
said  by  Thury,  the  Indians  took  to  their  canoes. 
Some  of  them  wanted  to  go  home  ;  but  Taxus  with 
a  large  party  remained  to  work  what  havoc  they 
could  on  neighboring  settlements.  They  divided 
into  small  bands,  and  killed  some  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Groton,  York,  Kittery,  and  other  places.  Villieu 
on  his  return  set  out  for  Quebec  to  warn  the  Gov- 
ernor of  a  rumored  expedition  against  that  city,  tak- 
ing with  him  some  Indians,  and  a  string  of  thirteen 
English  scalps,  which  were  presented  to  Frontenac. 
During  these  years  the  Iroquois,  incited  by  the 
New  York  colonists,  went  down  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  fell  upon  the  least  protected  settlements  from 
time  to  time,  killing,  burning,  and  capturing.  A 
large  party  of  them,  encamped  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Ottawa,  sallied  out  in  bands,  and  kept  the  fron- 
tier in  terror.  Over  one  hundred  men  were  marched 
against  them  under  Vaudreuil,  and  routed  a  band  of 
about  forty  near  Repentigny  ;  and  when  men  and 
supplies  arrived  from  France,  a  large  force  was  sent 
against  them,  and  their  camp  was  broken  up.  After 
this  defeat,  they  refused  to  keep  up  hostilities  un- 
aided by  the  English,  and  an  expedition  was  then 
organized  under  Major  Peter  Schuyler. 


I69I.] 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


1*3 


About  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  gathered 
at  Albany,  half  of  them  Indians.  They  descended 
Lake  Champlain  and  the  Richelieu  in  canoes,  and 
debarked  a  few  miles  above  Fort  Chambly,  whence 
they  marched  to  attack  the  French  at  La  Prairie, 
opposite  Montreal.  Calli^res,  who  was  now  Gov- 
ernor of  Montreal,  had  been  warned,  and  had 
gone  over  to  La  Prairie  with  seven  hundred  men, 
but  he  was  too  ill  to  command  during  the  attack, 
which  took  place  early  in  the  morning  of  the  nth  of 
August.  The  camp  was  broken  up,  the  soldiers 
driven  into  the  fort,  and  great  loss  inflicted  on  the 
French,  and  then  Schuyler  drew  off  his  men,  destroy- 
ing the  growing  crops  as  he  went. 

On  the  way  back  he  was  met  by  a  force  of  French 
soldiers  and  Canadian  Indians  from  Fort  Chambly, 
under  an  officer  named  Valrenne,  who,  knowing  of 
their  attack  on  La  Prairie,  had  come  out  to  cut  off 
their  retreat.  A  fierce  combat  followed.  Some  of 
the  Indians  ran  away  ;  but  the  English  and  the 
French  fought  with  desperation,  and  the  Mohawks 
remained  steadfast.  The  force  at  La  Prairie  did  not 
come  up  till  the  fighting  was  over.  Schuyler's  men 
at  length  succeeded  in  breaking  through  the  centre 
of  the  enemy's  rank,  and  then  faced  about  and  drove 
the  French  before  them,  forcing  them  to  retreat. 
This  is  according  to  Schuyler's  own  account.     The 


jLz^n 


114 


CLOSE   OF  KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


[1693. 


;    1.1 

!  1 1 ;  il  11 


liii' 


French  also  claimed  the  victory,  and  Valrenne  was 
highly  commended  for  having  repelled  the  English. 

As  the  Iroquois  continued  their  raids  on  the 
French,  it  was  resolved  to  invade  the  Mohawk  coun- 
try. A  force  of  nearly  seven  hundred  French  and 
Indians  set  out  from  Montreal  in  the  middle  of 
January,  1693.  After  a  weary  march  on  snow-shoes 
they  passed  Schenectady  early  in  February,  went  on 
to  the  first  Mohawk  castle,  or  town,  anH  took  a  few 
prisoners  without  resistance.  The  second  was  taken 
quite  as  easily  ;  but  at  the  third  the  Mohawks,  who 
had  gathered  there  for  a  feast  and  a  war-dance, 
fought  desperately,  though  they  were  at  last  over- 
powered. The  invaders  lost  thirty  men,  and  the 
Mohawks  about  the  same  number.  The  Canadian 
Indians  had  promised  to  put  their  captives  to  death 
in  accordance  with  the  command  of  Frontenac  that 
no  quarter  should  be  given  ;  and  as  many  of  these 
Canadian  Indians  were  converted  Iroquois,  it  was 
hoped  that  such  a  proceeding  on  their  part  would 
preclude  any  reconciliation  from  ever  taking  place  be- 
tween them  and  the  Iroqucis  of  New  York.  But  they 
refused  to  keep  their  promise,  and  the  French  turned 
homeward  with  about  three  hundred  prisoners. 

Warning  had  been  given  at  Albany  of  the  French 
invasion,  by  a  young  man  who  had  been  carried  away 
from  Schenectady  at  the  burning  of  that  town  in 


i693.] 


CLOSE   OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


"5 


1690.  He  was  taken  with  the  invading  expedition, 
and  ran  away  when  -he  reached  the  neighborhood 
of  his  old  home.  Schuyler  hastily  gathered  two 
hundred  men  and,  joined  by  three  or  four  hundred 
Indians,  marched  against  the  French.  Some  Mo- 
hawks caught  up  with  the  French,  and  told  them 
Schuyler  was  coming  to  parley  with  them,  as  peace 
had  been  declared  in  Europe.  The  Canadian  Indians 
said  they  would  wait ;  the  French  were  distrustful, 
and  anxious  to  push  rn  their  retreat.  The  Indians 
prevailed,  and  a  fort  was  built  of  felled  trees. 

When  Schuyler  came  up,  instead  of  seeking  a  par- 
ley, he  began  to  build  a  similar  fort,  or  rather  his 
Indians  did.  The  French  attacked  it,  and  were  de- 
feated in  three  attempts  ;  then  they  quietly  packed 
their  baggage  and  moved  off  in  the  night  during  a 
heavy  snow-storm. 

The  Acadians  were  anxious  that  the  fort  at  Pema- 
quid  should  be  reduced.  Not  only  was  it  a  standing 
assertion  of  the  English  claim  to  disputed  territory, 
but  it  kept  them  in  constant  fear  of  English  influ- 
ence over  their  unstable  allies.  There  was  need  also 
of  protection  for  the  fisheries  and  the  fur-trade, 
which  were  seriously  encroached  upon  by  the  Eng- 
lish, who  offered  much  better  terms  to  the  Indians, 
both  in  Acadia  and  New  York,  than  the  French 
would.     A  pestilence  had  weakened  the  Indians  of 


i— rp-l 


At 


ii6 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR, 


[1696. 


the  cast,  who  were  hungry  and  needy,  and  disposed 
to  seek  the  best  market  for  their  furs,  regardless  of 
their  friendships  or  preferences. 

They  were  still  anxious  to  exchange  prisoners 
with  the  English  ;  but  when  they  were  at  last  sum- 
moned to  Pemaquid,  they  were  told  that  nothing 
could  be  done  till  they  should  bring  in  all  they  had 
taken.  As  the  English  had  not  brought  their  men, 
they  thought  this  was  asking  too  much,  and  refused 
to  treat  further.  In  1696  the  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts sent  them  another  summons.  The  Penob- 
scot tribe,  the  only  one  that  answered,  took  five  pris- 
oners to  give  for  five  of  their  tribe  who  had  been 
taken  by  the  English,  and  arrived  at  Pemaquid  in 
February,  1696.  The  fort  was  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Pascho  Chubb,  who  received  the  Indians  cor- 
dially, took  back  the  prisoners  they  brought,  and 
promised  to  give  them  some  presents,  and  to  send 
at  once  to  Boston  for  their  men,  whom  they  desired 
in  exchange.  He  then  proposed  a  conference  near 
the  fort,  where  nine  of  his  men  were  to  meet  nine  of 
the  Indians,  all  unarmed.  The  Indians  accepted, 
but  the  liquor  which  was  freely  given  them  rendered 
them  less  wary  than  usual,  and  they  did  not  notice 
a  party  of  soldiers  who  had  come  out  from  the  fort 
and  stood  ready  for  action  at  a  short  distance  from 
the  scene  ot  the  conference.     Chubb's  men  carried 


X696.] 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


117 


concealed  weapons,  and  at  a  signal  fell  upon  the  Ind- 
ians and  killed  several  of  them,  of  whom  two  were 
chiefs.  The  Indians  fought  savagely,  and  several  of 
the  soldiers  also  fell.  According  to  French  accounts, 
the  Indians  themselves  were  treacherously  disposed, 
but  none  the  less  this  treachery  of  Captain  Chubb 
roused  their  hatred  of  the  English  to  new  fury,  and 
did  more  service  to  the  French  cause  than  all  the 
persuasions  and  presents  which  Villebon  had  lavished 
upon  his  reluctant  allies. 

That  officer  had  long  been  urging  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment at  Quebec  the  necessity  of  another  a  ck 
upon  Pemaquid  ;  and  now  that  the  folly  of  its  eoin- 
mander  had  made  the  Indians  eager  to  take  revenge, 
preparations  for  the  expedition  were  pushed  on  with 
vigor.  In  the  summer  of  1696  the  Acadians  and 
Indians  assembled  on  the  Penobscot  and  the  St. 
John,  and  waited  for  two  ships  of  war  under  Iber- 
ville and  Bonaventure,  which  were  to  come  from 
Quebec.  While  they  were  waiting,  two  British 
ships  and  a  tender  from  Massachusetts  were  hang- 
ing about  the  coast,  and  the  crews  made  several 
attempts  to  land. 

When  at  length  the  French  ships,  which  had 
taken  on  board  thirty  Micmac  Indians  at  Cape  Bre- 
ton, arrived  at  the  St.  John,  a  sharp  engagement 
took  place.     One  of  the  English  vessels,  the  New- 


If 


ii8 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


[1696. 


!''l^ 


IW 


port^  was  captured  ;  but  a  fog  enabled  the  Sorting 
and  the  tender  to  escape.  The  victorious  vessels 
took  on  fifty  more  of  the  Micmacs  and  their  priest, 
Father  Simon,  who  were  waiting  at  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  John,  and  proceeded  to  Pentagoet.  Here 
were  Villieu,  and  St.  Castin,  and  the  faithful  Father 
Thury  with  twenty-five  French  soldiers  and  three 
hundred  Abenaquis.  Attended  by  a  fleet  of  Abe- 
naqui  canoes,  the  ships  set  out  for  Pemaquid, 
arriving  there  August  14th,  1696. 

The  Abenaquis,  under  the  lead  of  St.  Castin,  were 
put  ashore  for  the  land  attack,  while  Iberville  sum- 
moned Chubb  to  surrender.  Chubb  replied  that  he 
would  not  give  up  the  fort,  "  if  the  sea  were  cov- 
ered with  French  ships,  and  the  land  with  Indians." 
The  attack  began  ;  the  French  and  Indian  marks- 
men surrounded  the  fort,  hiding  in  placec  where  they 
were  sheltered  from  its  cannon,  and  kept  up  a  con- 
stant fire.  During  the  night  the  heavy  guns  were 
loaded,  and  the  batteries  made  rcuuy  for  use  by  the 
next  afternoon.  Before  they  were  fired,  St.  Castin 
sen<-  word  to  Chubb  that  if  he  and  his  soldiers  held 
out  until  the  fort  should  be  carried  by  assault,  they 
would  get  no  quarter  from  the  Indians,  who  remem- 
bered his  former  treachery.  The  letter  was  followed 
by  five  bomb-shells. 

Chubb  immediately  sounded  a  parley  and  offered 


1696.] 


CLOSE   OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


119 


to  surrender,  on  condition  that  he  and  all  his  men 
should  be  protected  from  the  Indians,  and  sent  to 
Boston  to  be  exchanged  for  French  and  Indian  pris- 
oners. Iberville  sent  them  to  an  island  in  the  bay, 
and  despatched  Villieu  to  take  possession  of  the 
fort.  One  of  the  Indians  whom  Chubb  had  taken  in 
February  was  found  in  irons  in  the  fort,  nearly  dead 
with  hunger  and  long  confinement,  and  his  country- 
men were  so  incensed  that  they  would  have  made 
short  work  with  the  garrison  if  Iberville  had  not 
taken  the  precaution  to  send  them  away. 

The  cannon  of  the  fort  were  carried  to  the  ships, 
and  then  the  walls  were  blown  up  and  the  ruins 
fired.  Notwithstanding  the  money  and  labor  ex- 
pended on  the  fort,  and  its  apparent  strength,  it 
was  not  well  planned.  There  were  no  casemates, 
and  a  shower  of  bomb-shells  would  have  made 
havoc  with  the  garrison.  When  Chubb  reached 
Boston  he  was  thrown  into  prison  on  a  charge  of 
cowardice.  He  was  liberated  after  several  months 
and  returned  to  his  home  in  Andover  ;  but  Indian 
vengeance  was  on  his  track,  and  the  next  year  he 
and  his  wife  were  killed  by  a  party  of  savages. 

Massachusetts  had  a  force  ready  to  send  against 
the  French,  under  Benjamin  Church,  when  news 
of  the  capture  of  Pemaquid  reached  Boston,  and 
Church  started  immediately  with  about  five  hundred 


I20 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


[1696. 


\ 


\    I  M 

111 


I  iliiiiilli 


men,  partly  Indians,  embarked  in  sloops  and  whal- 
ing vessels.  After  doing  a  small  amount  of  damage 
at  Penobscot,  he  went  on  to  Chignecto  at  the  head 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  where  he  landed  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  place  without  meeting  any  resistance 
from  the  twenty  or  thirty  men  in  the  settlement. 
The  inhabitants  saved  their  lives  by  producing  a 
certificate  that  they  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  British  Crown  ;  but  the  soldiers  plundered 
without  restraint,  and  then  burned  the  town. 

After  this  easy  triumph,  Church  sailed  for  the  St. 
John.  An  officer  named  Chevalier  was  stationed 
with  a  few  soldiers  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  while 
Villebon's  fort  of  Naxouat  was  situated  farther  up. 
These  soldiers  were  taken  by  the  Indians  of  Church's 
force,  and  Chevalier  was  killed.  One  of  the  captured 
Frenchmen  told  Church  where  to  find  the  cannon  of 
the  old  fort,  which  were  buried  in  the  sand,  and  the 
New  Englanders  dug  them  up  and  put  them  on 
board.  On  the  way  back  to  Boston  they  met  three 
ships  from  Massachusetts,  with  two  hundred  men 
under  Colonel  Hathorn.  Hathorn  deprived  Church  of 
his  command  for  having  conducted  the  expedition 
in  such  a  manner,  and  turned  the  force  back  to  at- 
tack Fort  Naxouat.  But,  warned  by  the  arrival  of 
Church,  Villebon  had  been  strengthening  his  fort 
and  gathering  into  it  a  force  of  settlers  and  Indians. 


1696.] 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


121 


The  attack  began  on  the  i8th  of  October,  and 
continued  two  days  without  success.  During  the 
night  of  the  19th  the  English  quietly  embarked  and 
sailed  away,  having  had  eight  men  killed  and  sev- 
enteen wounded,  while  only  three  of  the  French 
suffered  injury.  This  was  the  end  of  hostilities 
between  the  British  and  French  colonists  during 
what  is  known  as  King  William's  War.  But  the 
Indians  kept  up  a  petty  warfare,  ravaging  the  bor- 
ders of  settlements  and  butchering  defenceless  fam- 
ilies. 

In  the  spring  of  1697,  a  band  of  Indians  reached 
the  village  of  Haverhill,  raised  the  war-cr>',  and 
began  their  horrid  work.  A  man  named  Dustin  was 
at  work  in  the  field,  having  with  him  his  seven  chil- 
dren, while  his  wife  with  the  baby,  one  week  old, 
and  Mary  Neff,  a  neighbor,  were  in  the  house.  As 
soon  as  he  became  aware  of  the  presence  of  the  Ind- 
ians, Dustin  started  for  the  house  ;  but,  seeing  he 
was  too  late  to  be  of  any  use  there,  he  escaped  to 
the  woods  with  the  children  that  were  in  the  field 
*  with  him.  The  savages  killed  the  infant,  set  fire  to 
the  house,  and  took  Hannah  Dustin  and  Mar\'^  Neff 
to  the  woods  with  the  other  prisoners  they  had 
taken.  Some  of  these  were  killed,  and  the  rest  were 
divided  among  the  Indians,  who  separated  and  re- 
turned to  their  homes. 


132 


CLOSE  OF  KING   WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


I1697. 


■  I 


li 


|i  i 


The  two  women  fell  to  the  lot  of  two  families, 
who,  taking  a  leisurely  march  northward,  were  on 
their  way  to  some  Indian  village.  They  encamped 
one  night  in  the  forest,  on  a  small  island  in  the  Mer- 
rimack, near  the  present  city  of  Concord,  N.  H. 
The  Indians  went  to  sleep  about  their  camp-fire, 
after  having  counted  on  their  beads  the  prayers 
taught  them  by  some  Jesuit  enthusiast  at  their  mis- 
sion station.  Hannah  Dustin  had  planned  an  escape 
and  inspired  Mary  Neff  and  Samuel  Leonardson,  a 
boy  captured  at  Worcester,  to  take  part  in  it. 
When  all  the  Indians  were  still,  the  three  rose  quiet- 
ly, took  each  a  tomahawk,  and  at  a  signal  all  struck 
together  on  the  heads  of  the  sleeping  savages.  They 
struck  with  such  nerve  and  skill  that  the  two  men 
of  the  party,  two  of  the  three  squaws,  and  six  of  the 
seven  children  were  instantly  killed.  A  little  boy 
was  spared  ;  and  he  and  a  wounded  squaw  who  ran 
with  him  into  the  woods  were  the  only  survivors. 
In  the  morning  Hannah  Dustin  took  the  ten  scalps, 
together  with  the  gun  and  tomahawk  of  the  Indian 
that  killed  her  child,  and  a  canoe  carried  her  and 
her  companions  down  the  Merrimack  to  their  home. 
They  received  a  bounty  of  five  pounds  apiece  for  the 
scalps,  and  a  present  was  sent  to  them  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Maryland. 

In  the  same  year,  1697,  a  squadron  of  fifteen  ships 


LixitJumuMiwuiMijitiM* 


1697.] 


CLOSE  OF  ICING   WILLIAM* S  WAR. 


123 


was  sent  out  from  France,  under  the  command  of 
the  Marquis  de  Nesmond.  It  was  to  go  to  New- 
foundland, capture  any  English  ships  that  might  be 
there,  then  sail  to  the  Penobscot  and  take  on  board 
as  many  Indians  and  French  soldiers  as  could  be 
collected.  It  was  expected  that  Canada  would  send 
fifteen  hundred.  This  force  was  destined  to  take 
possession  of  Boston.  One  part  was  to  land  at  Dor- 
chester and  enter  the  town  from  the  south  by  way 
of  the  Neck  ;  another  was  to  land  at  Noddle's 
Island,  take  boats  to  Charlestown,  capture  it,  and 
enter  Boston  from  the  north  ;  while  still  another 
portion  of  the  forces  was  to  land  directly  in  the 
town  near  Long  Wharf.  Boston  once  taken,  the 
forces  were  to  march  northward  along  the  coast,  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  fleet,  take  all  the  settle- 
ments. The  towns  were  to  be  burned  after  every- 
thing of  value  that  could  be  removed  had  been  taken 
out. 

Frontenac  prepared  his  forces,  and  made  ready  to 
command  them  in  person.  But  the  fleet  was  de- 
tained by  contrary  winds  until  it  was  too  late  for 
the  plan  to  be  carrier'  out  that  season.  In  Septem- 
ber a  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and  England 
was  signed  at  Ryswick,  and  thus  the  scheme  for 
destroying  the  New  England  settlements  came  to 
nothing. 


184 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


[<696. 


But  before  peace  was  declared,  the  French  had 
met  with  unqualified  success  in  the  north.  As  soon 
as  Iberville  had  destroyed  Pemaquid,  he  took  charge 
of  an  expedition  for  the  conquest  of  Newfoundland. 
The  island  was  claimed  by  the  English,  by  virtue  of 
the  discoveries  of  the  Cabots  and  Sir  Humphrey 
Gilbert,  and  the  fishing  settlements  planted  by  Eng- 
lishmen on  the  coast.  The  French,  however,  assert- 
ed that  fishermen  from  Brittany,  Normandy,  and 
the  Basque  Provinces  had  fished  on  the  coast  long 
before,  and  that  through  them  France  had  a  prior 
claim. 

At  this  time  the  French  had  a  town  and  a  fort 
at  Placentia  Bay,  which  gave  them  control  of  the 
southern  coast.  The  eastern  coast  was  occupied  by 
a  long  line  of  small  English  settlements,  the  princi- 
pal of  which  was  St.  John.  Expeditions  had  been 
planned  by  each  nation  during  the  hostilities,  for 
driving  the  other  out ;  but  all  of  them  had  fallen 
through. 

When  Iberville  arrived,  the  Governor  of  Placentia 
was  already  at  St.  John  with  a  fleet  of  privateers, 
attempting  to  take  the  place.  Iberville  joined  him, 
and  St.  John  was  soon  reduced  to  ashes.  Then  the 
ships  were  withdrawn,  and  Iberville  with  his  soldiers 
and  Indians  marched  along  the  eastern  coast,  attack- 
ing and  destroying  every  town  in  turn.     It  was  in 


1696.] 


CLOSE  OF  KING   WILLIAM'S   WAR, 


125 


the  depth  of  winter  ;  the  ground  was  covered  with 
snow  and  ice  ;  and  the  soldiers  went  stumbh'ng  along 
the  unbroken  paths,  tripping  against  rocks  and  logs 
concealed  under  the  snow,  but  merry  with  the  ex- 
citement of  the  march,  and  elated  with  their  suc- 
cess ;  for  the  villagers  surrendered  without  the 
slightest  resistance,  and  the  soldiers  plundered  with- 
out restraint.  Nothing  was  left  to  the  English  but 
Eonavista  and  Isle  Carbonni^re. 

In  the  spring,  Iberville  and  his  brother  Serighy 
were  sent  to  re-take  Fort  Nelson  on  Hudson  Bay, 
which,  after  being  taken  by  them  in  1694,  had  fallen 
again  into  the  hands  of  the  English  in  1696.  The 
French  called  it  Fort  Bourbon.  It  was  of  great 
importance,  being  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  region 
abounding  in  valuable  furs.  The  brothers  set  out 
with  four  ships  of  war  and  a  transport.  Although 
it  was  July  when  they  entered  Hudson  Bay,  the 
water  was  filled  with  floating  ice,  and  the  supply, 
ship  was  crushed.  Iberville's  ship,  the  Pelican^  was 
in  great  danger,  and  when  at  last  she  got  free  and 
sailed  into  the  unobstructed  waters  of  the  open  bay, 
nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  the  other  three  ;  they  were 
still  struggling  amid  the  ice. 

Iberville  and  his  men  sailed  on  alone  to  begin  the 
attack  ;  but  before  they  reached  the  fort,  they  were 
overtaken  by  three  armed  English  ships.    There  was 


126 


CLOSE  OF  KING   WILLIAM'S   WAR. 


[1697. 


a  close  and  desperate  engagement.  One  of  the 
English  ships  sank  under  the  heavy  broadsides  of  the 
Pelican^  with  all  on  board  ;  another  surrendered,  and 
the  third  sailed  away  and  escaped.  The  Pelican  was 
badly  injured  ;  and  a  fierce  storm  arising,  she  was 
stranded  and  split  amidships  by  the  fury  of  the  wind 
and  waVes.  The  crew  escaped  to  the  shore,  but 
they  were  in  danger  of  starvation,  and  were  about 
to  make  an  attack  on  the  fort  as  the  only  hope  of 
saving  themselves,  when  the  three  ships  appeared. 
Fort  Nelson,  which  was  occupied  by  the  traders  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  was  incapable  of  resist- 
ing an  attack  by  mortars,  and  it  soon  surrendered. 

In  the  summer  of  1695,  Frontenac  rebuilt  the  fort 
at  the  head  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Kingston,  which  was  sometimes 
known  as  Fort  Catarocouay,  but  named  by  him  now, 
as  before  under  the  French,  Fort  Frontenac.  He 
was  determined  either  to  conquer  the  Iroquois,  or 
to  bring  them  over  to  alliance  with  the  French,  or 
rather,  perhaps,  to  bring  them  over  by  conquering 
them,  if  they  should  refuse  to  make  a  permanent 
treaty  of  peace. 

In  the  summer  of  1696  he  commanded  in  person 
an  expedition  against  the  Indians  of  New  York,  and 
with  twenty-two  hundred  men  crossed  Lake  Ontario 
to  Oswego.     The  Onondagas,  when  they  heard  of 


1696.] 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


127 


the  advance  of  the  French,  set  fire  to  their  principal 
village,  and  fled.  One  old  man  of  the  tribe  was 
found  hidden  in  a  hollow  tree,  and  was  dragged  out. 
The  Indians  who  were  with  the  French  wanted  to 
torture  and  burn  him,  while  Frontenac  was  anxious 
to  save  him  ;  but  the  Indians  were  so  clamorous, 
that  it  was  finally  decided  to  be  the  better  policy  to 
give  him  up.  During  the  horrible  tortures  inflicted 
on  him  he  never  quailed,  but  taunted  his  tormentors 
to  the  last.  When  at  length  a  mortal  thrust  was 
made,  he  said,  "  I  thank  you  ;  but  you  should  have 
finished  me  by  fire.  Learn,  dogs  of  Frenchmen, 
how  to  suffer,  and  you  Indians,  their  allies,  who  are 
dogs  of  dogs,  remember  what  you  should  do  when 
you  stand  where  I  stand  now." 

A  party  was  sent  out  to  destroy  the  corn  in  the 
fields  of  the  Oneidas,  most  of  whom  had  fled, 
though  thirty-five  had  staid  to  defend  their  town 
and  were  taken  prisoners. 

It  Avas  proposed  that  the  army  should  next  march 
against  the  Cayugas.  But  as  it  was  of  no  use  to 
march  an  army  through  the  wilderness  to  take  pos- 
session of  a  cluster  of  deserted  wigwams,  Frontenac 
decided  to  return  home.  In  his  despatches  to  the 
King,  he  represented  the  expedition  as  a  brilliant 
triumph,  which,  indeed,  would  have  been  still  more 
brilliant  if  the  savages  had  made  a  stand,  and  given 


\ 


128 


CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 


[1697. 


the  French  army  a  chance  to  overwhelm  and  defeat 
them  completely,  but  which,  nevertheless,  would  be 
of  vast  advantage  to  the  French  interest,  in  pre- 
venting an  alliance  between  the  Iroquois  and  the 
Indian  allies  of  the  French.  He  took  care,  also,  to 
say  that  the  triumph  could  not  have  been  effected 
had  it  not  been  for  the  rebuilding  of  Fort  Frontenac, 
a  proceeding  in  which  he  had  gone  contrary  to  the 
wishes  of  the  King,  and  eluded  his  express  orders. 
For  this  exploit  he  was  rewarded  with  the  cross  of 
the  Military  Order  of  St.  Louis. 

Early  in  1698,  tidings  of  the  peace  which  had 
been  proclaimed  at  Ryswick,  September  20th,  1697, 
reached  Montreal,  and  in  July  official  notice  was 
sent  with  a  letter  from  the  King  ordering  Te  Deum 
to  be  sung  in  the  cathedral  of  Quebec.  An  exchange 
of  prisoners  was  proposed  between  the  colonies  of 
the  two  nations  in  America  ;  but  a  dispute  arose 
between  Frontenac  and  the  Earl  of  Bellomont, 
Governor  of  New  York,  as  to  the  exchange  of  the 
French  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  Iroquois  for 
the  Iroquois  in  the  hands  of  the  French.  Bellomont 
proposed  to  negotiate  the  exchange.  Frontenac 
refused  to  treat  with  the  Iroquois  through  the  Eng- 
lish, which  would  have  been  an  admission  that  the 
Iroquois  were  English  subjects,  whereas  he  chose  to 
regard  them  as  rebellious  subjects  of  France. 


mmmm 


X698.J         CLOSE  OF  KING    WILLIAM'S   WAR,  lap 

The  death  of  Frontenac  interrupted  the  quarrel. 
That  able  and  intrepid  officer  had  exercised  a  pow- 
erful influence  on  the  fortunes  of  the  French  in 
America.  Much  less  pure  and  disinterested  than 
Champlain,  exacting  and  quarrelsome,  he  continu- 
ally exasperated  his  associates  in  times  of  peace  ; 
but  when  danger  threatened  the  colony,  they  in- 
stinctively felt  that  in  his  leadership  was  almost 
certain  victory.  He  died  in  November,  1698,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-eight. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Calli^res,  upon  whom  de- 
volved  the  settlement  of  the  dispute  about  the  Iro- 
quois, who  declined  to  allow  the  English  to  negoti- 
ate for  them,  asserting  their  independence  of  both 
the  foreign  powers.  After  many  councils,  and  many 
wampum  belts,  and  much  eloquence,  the  exchange 
was  effected  ;  but  the  question  of  the  sovereignty  of 
the  west,  and  even  of  New  York,  still  remained 
undecided.  In  the  following  year,  1700,  the  French 
in  Acadia  lost  their  efficient  leader  Villebon. 


'' 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


QU  EEN    AN 


.'S 


WAR. 


The  Spanish  Succession — The  Pretender — Attacks  on  Wells,  Saco, 
Casco,  Deerfield,  and  Lancaster— Church  in  Acadia — Destruction 
of  English  Towns  in  Newfoundland — Sieges  of  Port  Royal — At- 
tack on  Haverhill — Final  Capture  of  Port  Royal  by  the  English — 
Insurrection  of  the  Acadians — Attempted  Conquest  of  Canada  by 
Admiral  Walker — Attack  of  the  Foxes  on  Detroit — Treaty  of 
Utrecht — Louisbourg — Father  Rasles — Expeditions  of  Harmon, 
Westbrooke,  Winslow,  and  Lovewell— Indian  Treaty — Forts  at ' 
Niagara,  Oswego,  and  Crown  Point. 

But  a  few  years  of  p.^ac"  succeeded  the  treaty  of 
Ryswick.  First  came  tl  ontest  in  Ejrope  ov^er 
the  Spanish  succession — tnat  is,  the  succession  to 
the  Spanish  crown,  which  was  bestowed  upon  one 
of  the  Bourbons,  the  reigning  family  of  France. 
This  threatened  to  give  a  great  preponderance  of 
power  and  influence  to  France,  and  William  III., 
though  he  was  old  and  sick,  resolved  to  fight  against 
a  dangerous  accession  to  the  power  of  England's 
ancient  enemy.  But  another  cause  of  war  soon 
arose.  James  II.,  the  dethroned  King  of  England, 
died  at  St.  Germain  in  September,  1701  ;  and  be- 
fore he  died  he  received  a  promise  from  Louis  XIV., 
King  of  France,  that  he  would  recognize  as  King  of 


xyoa.] 


QUEEN  ANNE'S    ^AR. 


131 


England  his  son,  James  Stuart,  often  called  "  the 
Pretender"— or,  in  later  years,  after  his  son,  Charles 
Edward,  had  also  made  a  claim  to  the  throne  of  his 
fathers,  "  the  Old  Pretender." 

This  recognition  was,  of  course,  a  challenge  to 
England,  and  preparations  were  made  for  war. 
William  III.  died  in  March,  1702,  and  was  succeed- 
ed by  Anne,  the  sister  of  his  wife,  and  daughter  of 
James  IT.  War  was  declared  by  England  against 
France,  May  15th,  1702.  The  contest  that  followed 
is  known  in  European  history  as  the  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession  ;  in  American  history,  it  is  usu- 
ally called  Queen  Anne's  War  ;  or  the  Second  Inter- 
colonial War.  On  the  one  side  were  France,  Spain, 
and  Bavaria  ;  on  the  other,  England,  Holland,  Sa- 
voy, Austria,  Prussia,  Portugal,  and  Denmark.  It 
was  in  this  war  that  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  won 
his  fame. 

To  the  people  of  New  England,  war  between 
France  and  England  meant  the  hideous  midnight 
war-whoop,  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife,  burn- 
ing hamlets,  and  horrible  captivity.  To  provide 
against  it,  a  conference  was  called  to  meet  at  Fal- 
mouth, on  Casco  Bay,  in  June,  1703,  when  Governor 
Dudley,  of  Massachusetts,  met  many  of  the  chiefs  of 
the  Abenaquis.  The  Indians,  professing  to  have  no 
thought  of  war,  promised  peace  and  friendship  by 


132 


QUEEN  ANNE'S   WAR. 


[1703. 


their  accustomed  tokens,  and  it  was  believed  in  New 
England  that  they  were  sincere,  and  would  be  neu- 
tral during  any  hostilities  that  might  arise  between 
the  English  and  French  colonies. 

But,  as  usual,  only  a  part  of  the  tribes  had  been 
brought  into  the  alliance,  those  on  and  west  of  the 
Penobscot  ;  an!  a  party  of  lawless  plunderers,  by 
attacking  and  pillaging  St.  Castin's  place,  roused 
the  resentment  of  the  tribe  on  that  river  and  dis- 
posed them  to  listen  to  the  insinuations  of  their 
ancient  allies.  French  persuasions  were  successful, 
and  by  August  five  hundred  French  and  Indians 
were  assembled,  ready  for  incursions  into  the  New 
England  settlements. 

They  divided  into  several  bands  and  fell  upon  a 
number  of  places  at  the  same  time.  Wells,  Saco, 
and  Casco  were  again  among  the  doomed  villages, 
but  the  fort  at  Casco  was  not  taken,  owing  to  the 
arrival  of  an  armed  vessel  under  Captain  Southwick. 
About  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  were  killed  or 
captured  in  these  attacks.  In  a  night  of  February, 
1704,  a  large  party  under  Hertel  de  Rouville  reached 
the  town  of  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  and  hid  them- 
selves in  a  pine  forest  until  morning.  The  people 
had  received  information  from  Colonel  Schuyler  that 
they  were  in  danger  of  attack,  and  twenty  soldiers 
were  sent  to  them  as  a  guard.     On  this  night,  how- 


1704] 


QUEEN  ANNE'S    WAR. 


"^ZZ 


ever,  the  watch  went  to  sleep  two  hours  before  day- 
break. The  town  was  surrounded  with  palisades  ; 
but  huge  drifts  of  snow  were  piled  up  against  them, 
and  they  were  no  defence.  The  invaders  entered  ^ 
undiscovered,  and  in  a  few  hours  forty-seven  of  the 
inhabitants  were  killed,  the  town  was  in  flames,  and 
one  hundred  and  twelve  prisoners  were  on  their  way 
to  Canada.  The  journey  to  Quebec  was  long  and 
painful,  and  two  of  the  men  starved  on  the  way,  for 
the  party  had  to  depend  on  hunting  for  support. 
Most  of  the  prisoners  were  in  time  redeemed. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  the  town  of  Lancaster  was 
assailed,  and  a  few  people  were  killed,  seven  build- 
ings burned,  and  much  property  destroyed.  These 
and  other  depredations  of  war-parties  along  the 
coasts  filled  New  England  with  consternation.  The 
governments  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire 
offered  a  bounty  of  twenty  pounds  for  every  Indian 
prisoner  under  ten  years,  and  forty  for  every  one 
above  that  age,  or  for  the  scalp  of  one.  Yet  but 
few  were  taken,  even  at  that  price.  It  was  then 
resolved  to  fit  out  an  expedition  for  retaliation,  and 
as  usual  the  people  of  Acadia  were  selected  to  expi-. 
ate  the  sins  of  the  Indians  and  Canadians. 

Colonel  Benjamin  Church  was  put  in  command  of 
five  hundred  and  fifty  men,  fourteen  transports,  and 
thirty-six  whale-boats,  convoyed  by  three  ships  of 


1 

; 

\v  f 

'•a 

4 

134 


Q  UEEN  A  NNE  '  S    WA  Ji. 


[1704. 


il  ! 


war.  Sailing  from  Boston  in  May,  1704,  he  stopped 
at  Penobscot,  and  killed  and  took  captive  a  few 
French  and  Indians,  among  them  a  daughter  and 
several  grandchildren  of  St.  Castin.  At  Passama- 
quoddy  he  met  with  similar  success,  and  then  sailed 
on  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  The  ships  of  war  were 
sent  to  Port  Royal,  where  they  did  nothing  but  wait 
for  him  to  come  back.  Church  himself  went  on  with 
the  other  vessels  to  Minas,  farther  up  the  bay.  This 
place  was  built  on  marsh  lands,  enclosed  by  dykes. 
The  soldiers  cut  the  dykes,  plundered  and  burned 
the  dwellings,  and  took  some  prisoners. 

Returning  to  Port  Royal,  Church  discreetly  re- 
frained from  attacking  a  fortified  place,  and  the 
officers  signed  a  declaration  that  their  force  was  in- 
sufficient for  an  assault.  Chignecto  was  next  visit- 
ed, twenty  houses  were  burned,  large  numbers  of 
cattle  killed,  and  the  whole  settlement  ravaged. 
The  only  thing  that  can  be  said  in  excuse  for  this 
kind  of  warfare  is,  that  it  was  less  cruel  than  the 
barbarous  attacks  for  which  it  was  intended  to  re- 
taliate. 

In  1705,  four  hundred  and  fifty  men  under  Suber- 
case — soldiers,  Canadian  peasants,  adventurers,  and 
Indians,  well  armed,  and  with  rations  for  twenty 
days,  blankets,  and  tents—set  out  to  destroy  the 
English  settlements  in  Newfoundland,  marching  on 


iiSenSSiBaUl 


wmm 


1709.] 


QUEEN  ANNE'S    WAR. 


135 


snow-shoes.  They  took  Petit  Havre  and  St.  John's, 
i.nd  devastated  all  the  little  settlements  along  the 
eastern  coast,  and  the  English  trade  was  for  the 
time  completely  broken  up. 

Subercase  was  made  Governor  of  Acadia  in  1706. 
The  following  spring  New  England  sent  Colonel 
March  to  Port  Royal  with  two  regiments,  but  he 
returned  without  assaulting  the  fort.  Governor 
Dudley  forbade  the  troops  to  land  when  they  came 
back  to  Boston,  and  ordered  them  to  go  again. 
Colonel  March  was  ill,  and  Colonel  Wainwright  took 
command  ;  but  after  a  pretence  of  besieging  the 
fort  for  eleven  days,  he  retired  with  small  loss,  the 
expedition  having  cost  Massachusetts  two  thousand 
two  hundred  pounds. 

In  1708  a  council  at  Montreal  decided  to  send  a 
large  number  of  Canadians  and  Indians  to  devastate 
New  England.  But  after  a  long  march  through  the 
almost  impassable  mountain  region  of  northern  New 
Hampshire,  a  murderous  attack  on  Haverhill,  in 
which  thirty  or  forty  were  killed,  was  the  only  re- 
sult. Thirty  of  the  assailants  were  killed  by  a  pur- 
suing party  from  neighboring  settlements,  under 
Samuel  Ayer,  and  some  of  the  prisoners  were 
rescued.  Ayer  himself  fell  a  victim  to  his  brave 
effort  in  behalf  of  his  neighbors. 

In  1709  a  plan  was  formed  in  England  ^or  thecapt- 


t     iy 


136 


QUEEN  ANNE  'S   WAR. 


[1710. 


ure  of  New  France  by  a  fleet  and  five  regiments  of 
British  soldiers  aided  by  the  colonists.  But  a  defeat 
in  Portugal  called  away  the  ships  destined  for 
America,  and  a  force  gathered  at  Lake  Champlain 
under  Colonel  Nicholson  for  a  land  attack  was  so  re- 
duced by  sickness — said  to  have  resulted  from  the 
poisoning  of  a  spring  by  Indians — that  they  burned 
their  canoes  and  retreated. 

The  next  year,  Nicholson  was  furnished  with  six 
ships  of  war,  thirty  transports,  and  one  British  and 
four  New  England  regiments,  for  the  capture  of 
Port  Royal.  Subercase  had  only  two  hundred  and 
sixty  men  and  an  insufficient  supply  of  provisions. 
His  soldiers  were  disaffected,  and  as  soon  as  the 
ships  appeared  they  began  deserting,  complaining 
that  they  had  been  neglected  and  abandoned  by 
their  own  country.  Subercase  had  to  order  the 
canoes  removed  to  prevent  a  general  desertion. 

Nicholson  sent  a  summons  to  surrender,  after 
three  days'  waiting,  landed  his  troops  after  three 
days  more,  and  bombarded  the  fort  after  another 
week.  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  petitioned  Su- 
bercase to  surrender.  Nothing  else  could  be  done, 
and  on  the  i6th  of  October  the  starving  and  ragged 
garrison  marched  out  to  be  sent  to  France.  For  the 
last  time  the  French  flag  was  hauled  down  from  the 
fort,  and  Port  Royal  was  henqefarth  an  English  for- 


1 '  "J 


i  tf 


mmimiimmtmtimmm 


I71I.J 


QUEEN  ANNE'S    WAR. 


137 


tress,  which  was  re-named  Annapolis  Royal,  in  honor 
o*"  Queen  Anne. 

Subercase  sent  St.  Castin  to  Quebec  to  carry  the 
news,  and  Nicholson  despatched  a  letter  to  Vau- 
dreuil,  the  Governor,  by  Major  Livingstone,  threat- 
ening reprisals  on  the  people  of  Acadia,  if  the  bar- 
barities of  French  and  Indians  in  New  England  were 
continued.  Vaudreuil  replied  that  the  French  were 
able  to  avenge  anything  he  might  do  ;  that  they 
were  not  responsible  for  the  acts  of  the  Indians  ; 
that  they  had  not  treated  prisoners  with  inhuman- 
ity ;  and  that  a  truce  might  long  ago  have  put  a 
stop  to  hostilities  if  the  English  had  been  willing. 
He  appointed  St.  Castin  his  lieutenant  in  Acadia, 
and  directed  him  and  the  missionaries  to  keep  alive 
the  loyalty  of  the  French  and  preserve  the  friendship 
of  the  Indians. 

They  were  so  successful  that  the  next  year,  when 
the  garrison  of  Port  Royal  was  weakened  by  disease, 
death,  and  even  desertion,  the  inhabitants  refused 
to  obey  the  comm.andant's  order  to  bring  in  timber 
for  repairing  the  fort.  Sixty  men  sent  out  to  seize 
a  band  of  Indians  and  Acadians  fell  into  an  ambus- 
cade ;  half  were  killed,  and  the  remainder  taken  pris- 
oners. The  people  of  the  town  then  sent  word  to 
the  commandant,  that  since  he,  as  they  thought, 
had  violated  the  terms  of  the  surrender,  they  deemed 


I 

1   m'. 


QUEEN  ANNE'S   WAR. 


[17". 


themselves  absolved  from  their  agreement  not  to 
bear  arms,  and  one  of  the  priests  went  to  Placentia 
for  arms,  ammunition,  and  an  officer  to  lead  the  in- 
surgents. Rut  by  this  time  news  of  the  uprising  had 
reached  Boston,  and  two  hundred  men  from  there 
soon  reduced  the  insurgents,  captured  the  supplies, 
and  forced  St.  Castin  to  fly  to  Quebec. 

Immediately  after  his  victory,  Nicholson  went  to 
England  to  secure  a  force  for  the  conquest  of 
Canada  ;  and  about  the  same  time  Colonel  Schuyler 
of  New  York  went  theie  for  the  same  purpose,  tak- 
ing with  him  five  Iroquois  sachems  to  awaken  inter- 
est in  the  cause,  and  to  insure  the  fidelity  of  the 
tribes  to  the  English  alliance.  The  chiefs  caused  a 
great  sensation  throughout  the  kingdom.  The  court 
was  in  mourning,  and  the  sachems  were  therefore 
dressed  in  black  suits,  but  over  them  they  wore 
mantles  of  scarlet  cloth  bordered  with  gold.  They 
were  taken  in  coaches  to  an  audience  with  the 
Queen  ;  and  presented  her  with  belts  of  wampum, 
while  one  of  them  made  a  speech,  saying  :  "  We 
were  greatly  rejoiced  when  we  heard  that  our  great 
Queen  had  resolved  to  send  an  army  against 
Canada.  We  hung  up  the  kettle,  and  took  down 
the  hatchet.  But  while  we  were  getting  ready  we 
were  told  that  our  great  Queen  could  not  send  the 
army.     We  were  very  sorrowful.     We  cannot  hunt 


I7II.] 


QUEEN  ANNE'S    IVAJi. 


n9 


in  freedom  if  Canada  is  not  taken.  So  that  if  our 
great  Queen  does  not  remember  us,  we  must  take 
our  families  and  forsake  our  country,  or  stand  neu- 
tral while  the  French  are  fighting  our  friends." 

The  Secretary  of  State,  St.  John,  afterward  Vis- 
count Bolingbroke,  planned  the  expedition.  Fifteen 
ships  of  war  rnd  forty  transports,  placed  under  the 
command  of  Sir  Hovenden  Walker,  carried  seven 
regiments  of  veterans  from  the  Duke  of  Marlbor- 
ough's army,  and  a  battalion  of  marines  under  the 
command  of  Brigadier-General  Hill.  They  arrived 
in  Boston  on  the  25th  of  June,  and  encamped  on 
Noddle's  Island,  now  East  Boston.  A  great  crowd 
of  people  gathered  to  witness  the  review  of  the 
troops.  "They  made  a  very  fine  appearance," 
wrote  the  Admiral,  "  such  as  had  never  before  been 
in  these  parts  of  the  world." 

New  England  and  New  York  had  raised  two  regi- 
ments to  join  the  fleet  ;  and  on  the  30th  of  July 
sixty-eight  vessels,  carrying  six  thousand  five  hun- 
dred soldiers,  set  sail  for  Quebec.  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Connecticut  collected  about  four  thou- 
sand men,  including  a  thousand  Indians,  to  march 
against  Montreal,  under  Colonels  Schuyler,  Whiting, 
and  Ingoldsby,  while  Nicholson  had  the  general  care 
of  the  expedition.  It  was  expected,  also,  that  the 
Indian   tribe   called    Foxes,    in    Wisconsin,    whose 


140 


Q  UEEN  A  NNE  '  S    WA  R. 


[1711. 


alliance  had  been  secured  through  the  Iroquois, 
would  begin  hostilities  against  the  French  in  the 
stations  on  the  lakes. 

When  Vaudreuil  learned  that  a  hostile  fleet  was 
on  its  way  to  Quebec  and  an  army  marching  toward 
Montreal,  he  first  gathered  the  Onondaga  and  Sen- 
eca deputies  and  persuaded  them  to  remain  neu- 
tral. Then  he  gave  a  great  festival,  at  which  the 
war-song  was  sung  and  the  hatchet  raised.  There 
were  the  Christian  Indians  of  the  settlements  near 
Montreal,  called  the  Sault  and  the  Mountain  ;  there 
were  the  Indians  of  the  various  mission  stations  of 
the  Jesuits  ;  there  were  Algonquin  chiefs  from  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  Ottawas,  and  Hurons, 
and  Chippewas  from  beyond  the  lakes.  The  raising 
of  the  hatchet  by  the  Hurons  decided  these  remoter 
tribes  ;  and  when  the  festival  ended,  they  were  all 
declared  allies  of  the  French.  Quebec  was  strength- 
ened, and  the  settlements  along  the  banks  below 
were  guarded  sufficiently  to  prevent  the  landing  of 
the  hostile  troops.  Three  thousand  men  were 
placed  at  Chambly  to  meet  the  army  from  Albany 
on  its  way  to  Montreal. 

But  the  fleet  was  destined  never  to  see  Quebec. 
Admiral  Sir  Hovenden  Walker  was  busy  with  inge- 
nious plans  for  taking  care  of  his  vessels  at  Quebec 
during  the  winter  after  he  should   have  taken  the 


V 


^ 


■illllMBiii 


17".] 


QUEEN  ANNE  'S    WAX. 


141 


F 


place.  He  said,  "the  ice  in  the  river,  freezing  to 
the  bottom,  would  bilge  them  as  much  as  if  they 
were  to  be  squeezed  between  rocks,"  and  concluded 
that  the  better  way  would  be  to  "  secure  them  on 
the  dry  ground  in  frames  and  cradles,  till  the  thaw." 
Meantime  he  remained  in  complete  ignorance  of  the 
real  difficulties  and  dangers  that  lay  in  his  path. 
He  had  with  him  a  French  seaman  of  experience 
named  Paradis,  and  by  following  his  advice  might 
have  navigated  the  river  in  safety.  But,  refusing 
all  counsel,  he  gave  orders  according  to  his  own  no- 
tions, and  the  fleet  approached  during  a  fog  very 
near  a  small  island  ;  a  sudden  wind  from  the  south- 
east drove  the  ships  toward  it,  eight  of  them  were 
wrecked,  and  eight  hundred  and  eighty-four  men 
were  drowned. 

After  this  disaster,  the  Admiral  ordered  his  fleet 
about  and  bore  off  to  the  coast  of  Cape  Breton, 
where  he  held  a  council  of  officers.  All  agreed  that 
it  was  not  advisable  to  go  on  ;  there  was  but  ten 
weeks'  provision  for  the  men,  and  a  supply  could 
hardly  arrive  in  time  from  New  England.  In  re- 
porting it.  Walker  philosophized  thus  :  "  Had  we 
arrived  safe  at  Quebec,  ten  or  twelve  thousand  men 
must  have  been  left  to  perish  of  cold  and  hunger  ; 
thus  by  the  loss  of  a  part,  Providence  saved  all  the 
rest !"     The  Admiral's  ships  sailed  for  England  and 


\  ' 


Z43 


QUEEN  ANNE  'S    PVAA\ 


[I7". 


the  provincial  vessels  carried  home  the  New  Eng- 
land troops.  Nicholson,  who  had  reached  Lake 
George  when  he  heard  of  the  issue  of  the  attack  on 
Quebec,  returned  home  and  abandoned  his  under- 
taking also. 

In  the  following  year,  the  French  were  assailed  by 
a  new  enemy,  the  Foxes,  or  Ottagamies,  whom  the 
Iroquois  had  drawn  into  an  alliance  against  them. 
A  party  of  their  warriors  set  out  to  burn  Detroit, 
which  was  defended  by  only  twenty  men  under  Du 
Buisson.  But,  having  timely  warning,  Du  Buisson^ 
sent  swift  messages  to  the  Jesuit  stations  to  have 
the  Indian  allies  of  the  French  sent  to  his  relief. 
They  poured  in  from  every  side  and  surrounded  the 
Foxes,  who  soon  found  themselves  the  besieged  in- 
stead of  the  besiegers.  They  held  out  with  desper- 
ate bravery,  but  were  at  last  compelled  to  surren- 
der. The  warriors  of  the  party  were  slain  at  once, 
and  the  rest  divided  as  slaves  among  the  conquer- 
ors. But  the  French  had  gained  an  implacable  foe  ; 
and  for  a  long  time  the  Foxes  and  some  more  nu- 
merous tribes  with  which  they  were  leagued  con- 
tinued to  harass  the  French  posts  at  the  West. 

Negotiations  for  peace  began  in  Europe  in  171 2, 
but  were  not  concluded  till  the  following  year.  The 
power  of  France  had  been  humbled  ;  and  not  only 
did  the  policy  of  England  prevail  in  the  settlement 


m. 


mmmmmm 


I7I3] 


QUERN  ANNE'S    WAR. 


'43 


of  questions  regarding  European  territory,  but  Eng- 
land also  gained  large  tracts  of  land  in  America 
which  had  been  claimed  by  her  enemy.  Although 
France  was  left  in  possession  of  Louisiana,  England 
gained  Newfoundland,  Hudson  Bay  and  Straits  with 
the  land  adjoining,  the  Island  of  St.  Christopher, 
and  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadia,  according  to  its  ancient 
boundaries.  The  Iroquois,  or  Five  Nations,  were 
recognized  as  being  under  the  dominion  of  the  Eng- 
lish, and  it  was  stipulated  that  France  should  never 
molest  thern.  The  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at 
Utrecht,  April  nth,  1713. 

But  there  was  still  abundant  room  for  future  mis- 
understandings and  disputes.  The  limits  of  the 
territory  of  the  Five  Nations  were  indefir't,,  the 
French  applied  the  name  Louisiana  to  the  entire 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio,  and  the 
boundaries  of  Acadia  had  long  been  a  subject  of  dis- 
pute. The  French  claimed  that  only  the  southern 
portion  of  the  peninsula  of  Nova  Scotia  was  proper- 
ly included  in  Acadia  ;  while  the  English  applied  the 
name  to  a  great  territory  bounded  by  the  St.  Law- 
rence, the  ocean  and  gulf,  and  a  line  drawn  from, 
the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec  to  Quebec,  and  includ- 
ing the  islands  of  Cape  Breton  and  St.  John,  now 
Prince  Edward  Island. 

Large  numbers  of   the    Acadians,    restive    under 


144 


QUEEN  ANNE'S   WAH. 


[17x3- 


ii^ 


British  rule,  removed  to  the  provinces  still  under  the 
control  of  the  French,  many  of  them  to  Cape  Breton 
Island.  A  large  settlement  was  formed  at  Louis- 
burg  on  the  southeastern  shore  of  the  island.  Here 
was  a  fine  harbor,  half  a  mile  broad,  and  here  in 
time  arose  the  strongest  fortress  in  America,  pro- 
tecting the  French  fisheries  and  forming  a  refuge 
for  privateers  in  time  of  war. 

The  Abenaquis,  seeing  with  jealousy  the  growth 
of  the  English  settlements  in  their  territory,  sent  an 
embassy  to  the  Governor  of  Canada,  asking  if  the 
French  had  really  given  up  their  country  to  the 
English.  Vaudreuil  answered  that  nothing  was  said 
about  their  country  in  the  treaty  ;  and  the  Indians, 
resolved  to  undertake  their  own  defence,  attacked 
the  English  fishermen  at  Canso,  killing  several  and 
robbing  them  of  all  they  had,  and  committing  other 
similar  depredations. 

The  New  England  people  had  long  been  suspi- 
cious of  the  influence  of  a  Jesuit  missionary,  Sebas- 
tian Rasles,  at  Norridgewock,  on  the  Kennebec.  He 
had  been  at  the  Jesuit  mission  on  the  Chaudi^re, 
had  travelled  throurfh  th^  st  in  pursuit  of  his  call- 
ing, and  was  fam'"'  3f  the  Indian  lan- 
guages. For  1  he  had  been  on 
the  Kennebec  ^ere  h  iiad  gathered  a  flourish- 
ing  congregation    of  &  ivages,  and   built   a   church 


* 


; 


X73I.J 


QUEEN  ANNE  'S    IVAR. 


MS 


I 


which  he  had  decorated  with  pictures  painted  by  his 
own  hand,  and  whose  glittering  altar  was  looked  on 
with  reverent  awe  by  savage  eyes.     His  altar- boys 
were  little  Indians,  gorgeous  in  red  and  white  ;  and 
their  chanting  processions  were  a  favorite  bid  for  the 
admiration  of  the  natives.     The  old  man  shared  the 
journeys  and  the  dangers  of  his  flock,  and  his  influ- 
ence over  them   was  unbounded.     This  influence, 
there  was  every  reason  to  believe,  was  used  to  incite 
them  to  depredations  on  the   English  settlements  ; 
he  was  said  to  keep  a  flag  on  which  was  a  cross  sur' 
rounded  by  bows  and  arrows,  which  he  used  to  raise 
on  a  pole  in  front  of  the  church  when  he  gave  them 
absolution  before  they  set  out  on  their  warlike  en- 
terprises. 

Father  Rasles  was  therefore  marked  for  destruc- 
tion.    On   occasion   of  the  Abenaquis  threatening 
reprisals  if  some  of  their  chiefs  who  were  held  by 
the  Massachusetts  Government  as  hostages  were  not 
released,  a  party  of  men  under  Colonel  Westbrook 
was  sent  in  December,  172 1,  to  capture  the  priest. 
The  hunters  were  away  on  the  chase,  and  there  was 
no  one  to  protect  him  ;  but,  warned  of  Westbrook's 
approach,  he  fled  to  the  woods  in  haste,  leaving  his 
papers  behind.     Among  them  was  his  correspond- 
ence with  the  Governor  of  Canada,   which  proved 
that  the  suspicions  against  him  were  not  unfounded. 


u 


m 


X46 


QUEEN  ANNE'S    WAA\ 


[1722. 


There  was  also  a  dictionary  in  manuscript  of  the 
Abenaquis  language,  which  has  been  preserved,  and 
was  printed  by  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  in  1833.  At  about  the  same  time  the 
young  Baron  de  St.  Castin  was  also  seized,  as  dan- 
gerous to  the  peace  of  the  settlements  in  the  east, 
and  taken  to  Boston. 

Exasperated  by  these  attempts  on  their  leaders, 
the  Indians  determined  on  war.  They  invited  all 
the  tribes  of  their  own  nation  not  only,  but  those 
near  Quebec,  to  unite  with  them.  The  first  blow 
was  struck  at  Merry  Meeting  Bay,  near  the  junction 
of  the  Androscoggin  with  the  Kennebec,  where 
Brunswick  now  stands.  A  party  of  sixty  Indians 
captured  nine  families,  but  they  afterward  released 
all  but  five  men,  whom  they  kept  as  security  for 
their  hostages  in  the  hands  of  the  English.  Two 
attacks  on  the  fort  at  the  River  St.  George  were  un- 
successful, as  were  nearly  all  Indian  attempts  on 
fortifier"  places  ;  but  many  fishing  and  trading  ves- 
sels fell  into  their  hands,  and  with  these  they  cruised 
about  the  coast,  compelling  the  captured  seamen  to 
serve  as  their  crews.  Two  armed  vessels  sent  out 
by  the  Governor  of  Nova  Scotia  re-took  all  the  ves- 
sels, numbering  more  than  twenty,  and  put  a  stop 
to  the  piracies  for  the  time. 

Parties  sent  out   the    next   year,    under   Captain 


^'■f^t-   i-T^-gTJwr-jr-r-vj- 


1724] 


QUEEN  ANNE'S    WAR. 


147 


Harmon  and  Colonel  Westbrook,  made  some  repri- 
sals on  the  savages.  Harmon  pursued  a  party  of 
thirty -four,  and  killed  fifteen  of  them  as  they  lay  by 
their  camp-fires.  Westbrook  took  a  large  party  of 
men  to  a  village  on  the  Penobscot,  supposed  to  have 
been  above  Bangor  at  Old  Town  ;  it  was  deserted, 
and  they  set  fire  to  it.  and  all  the  buildings  in  it, 
including  a  well-built  stockade  fort,  a  chapel,  and 
the  residence  of  the  priests,  were  laid  in  ashes. 
During  this  year  the  Indians  were  comparatively 
quiet,  but  in  1724  the)''  broke  out  afresh.  Men 
working  in  the  fields,  or  for  any  reason  away  from 
the  settlements,  were  liable  to  death  or  capture  at 
any  moment.  At  Kennebunk  a  sloop  was  taken, 
and  every  man  on  it  was  put  to  death. 

Captain  Josiah  Winslow  and  sixteen  men  who 
were  with  him  were  surprised  on  the  St.  George,  and 
every  one  of  them  was  killed.  Annapolis  was  at- 
tacked, and  a  party  sent  out  from  the  fort  was  de- 
feated. The  priest  of  Annapolis,  who  was  at  Mi- 
nas  when  the  Indians  gathered  there,  and  might 
have  given  warning  of  the  intended  attack,  was  ex- 
pelled from  the  colony  and  sent  to  Louisburg  ;  an- 
other priest,  who  did  send  a  warning,  although  it 
arrived  too  late,  was  thanked  and  promoted  by  the 
English  ;  but  the  church  authorities  afterward  su- 
perseded him,  placing  in  Minas,  where  the  English 


t  .; 


!:'• 


148 


QUEEN  ANNE'S   WAR. 


[1724. 


HP 
I  hi 


had  stationed  him,  one  more  faithful  to  the  French 
interest. 

The  same  year  another  expedition  was  planned  to 
seize  the  hated  Father  Rasles.  He  had  been  urged 
to  fly  to  Canada  ;  but,  though  he  knew  the  danger, 
he  would  not  leave  his  post.  "  God  has  given  this 
flock  into  my  care,"  he  said,  "  and  I  shall  not  leave 
it."  This  time  the  assailants  succeeded  in  taking 
Norridgewock  by  surprise.  The  Indians  made  lit- 
tle resistance  ;  all  who  could  get  away  fled  to  the 
river,  crossed  it,  and  escaped  to  the  forest.  Father 
Rasles,  who  was  in  his  wigwam,  went  forward  to 
help  his  flock  to  escape  by  drawing  the  attention  of 
the  assailants  to  himself,  and  was  struck  down  at 
once,  killed,  scalped,  and  trodden  under  foot.  After 
pillaging  the  church  and  the  dwellings,  the  soldiers 
set  them  on  fire  and  retired.  The  mourning  Indians 
buried  their  priest  beneath  the  ground  where  his 
altar  had  stood,  and  now  a  monument  to  his  mem- 
ory marks  the  spot  where  he  fell. 

In  the  following  year  Captain  John  Lovewell,  of 
Dunstable,  impelled  by  patriotism,  or  the  desire  of 
adventure,  or  the  bounty  on  scalps,  led  out  a  party 
of  men.  Ten  Indians  asleep  beside  the  Salmon 
Falls  River  were  surprised  and  killed,  and  Lovewell 
received  one  thousand  pounds  for  the  ten  scalps. 
The  next  expedition  was  not  so  fortunate  ;  it   fell 


[1724. 
rench 

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I73I] 


QUEEN  ANNE'S    WAR, 


149 


into  an  ambuscade  on  the  Saco  ;  and  Lovewell  and 
half  of  his  thirty-four  men  lost  their  Hves.  Love- 
well's  Pond,  near  Fryeburg,  where  he  fell,  is  named 
for  him,  and  the  brook  flowing  into  it  is  called  Bat- 
tle Brook. 

In  the  summer  of  the  same  year,  a  conference  with 
the  Indians  was  held  at  the  fort  on  the  St.  George. 
They  seemed  disposed  for  peace,  and  in  November 
four  of  the  chiefs  were  called  to  Boston  to  form  a 
treaty.  They  acknowledged  the  title  of  the  English 
to  Nova  Scotia  and  Acadia,  and  promised  to  main- 
tain peace  and  deliver  up  their  prisoners.  The  treaty 
was  faithfully  observed,  and  the  eastern  colonies 
had  a  season  of  rest  from  the  horrors  of  Indian 
warfare. 

In  1726,  the  French  built  a  fort  at  Niagara,  where 
they  had  long  had  a  trading-post  ;  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  Governor  Burnet,  of  New  York,  built  what 
he  called  a  '*  stone  house  of  strength  "  at  Oswego. 
The  Governor  of  Canada  remonstrated,  and  threat- 
ened to  destroy  it,  but  did  not  venture  on  any  vio- 
lence. In  1 73 1,  the  French  built  Fort  Frederick 
at  Crown  Point,  thus  asserting  their  claim  to  north- 
eastern New  York. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

KING  GEORGE'S  WAR. 

Sovereig;ns  of  England — The  Austrian  Succession — Maria  Theresa — 
Frederick  the  Great — The  War — Hostilities  between  France  and 
England — Attacks  on  Canso  and  Annapolis — La  Loutre — Pro- 
posed Expedition  to  Louisbourg — Shirley,  Pepperell,  and  Vaughan 
— Commodore  Warren — Whitefield — Siege  and  Fall  of  Louis- 
bourg— Rejoicings  in  Boston — Project  to  Conquer  Canada — Fight- 
ing in  Acadia — Fate  of  the  ?>ench  Fleet — Success  of  Ramezay  at 
Grand  Pr6 — Capture  of  Jonquiere's  Fleet — The  French  and  Ind- 
ians on  the  Western  Frontier — Inactivity  of  the  English — Possible 
Reasons  for  it — The  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

Peace  reigned  between  France  and  Fngland  for 
thirty  years  after  the  Treaty  cf  Utrecht.  Queen 
Anne,  the  last  of  the  Stuart  line  of  sovereigns, 
died  in  1714,  and  was  succeeded  by  George  I.,  first 
English  king  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  who  in- 
herited through  his  mother,  the  Electress  Sophia  of 
Hanover,  granddaughter  of  James  I.  of  England. 
He  died  in  1727,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
George  H.  It  was  during  the  reign  of  this  king 
that  England  became  engaged  in  the  next  war  which 
involved  the  colonies  of  North  America. 

In  1740,  Charles  VI.,  Emperor  of  Germany,  died. 
Many  years  before,  he  had  taken  measures  to  secure 
to  his   daughter,  Maria  Theresa,  the  succession  to 


'  %.* 


1 740.  J 


KIXG   GEORGE'S    WAR. 


»5» 


his  hereditary  dominions  ;  and  he  hoped  that  after 
his  death  her  husband,  the  Duke  of  Tuscany,  would 
be  chosen  by  the  electors  to  wear  the  imperial  crown. 
To  secure  the  inheritance  to  his  daughter,  he  pro- 
claimed a  law  called  the  "  Pragmatic  Sanction,"  » 
regulating  the  succession.  Many  of  the  powers  of 
Europe  demurred  ;  but  by  ceding  away  parts  of  his 
dominions  to  the  other  monarchies  of  the  continent, 
the  Emperor  at  length  gained  their  consent.  After 
his  death,  however,  claims  were  made  to  his  domin- 
ions by  several  princes,  on  grounds  having  more  or 
less  color  of  justice  in  themselves,  but  all  were  set 
aside  by  the  Pragmatic  Sanction  to  which  they  had 
pledged  their  support. 

The  young  queen  had  been  carefully  educated 
with  a  view  to  the  position  her  father  designed 
her  to  occupy.  She  had  shared  his  counsels,  and 
learned  something  of  the  art  of  governing.  She 
was  twenty-three  years  of  age  when  her  father  died, 
and  being  gifted  with  beauty,  unusual  mental  abili- 
ty, and  a  high  spirit,  she  was  well  fitted  to  attract 
the  loyalty  of  her  father's  subjects 

The  first  to  attack  the  rights  of  the  young  queen 
was  the  King  of  Prussia,  Frederick  II.,  called  the 
Great.  Raising  some  pretence  of  a  right  to  the 
possession  of  Silesia,  which  had  been  under  Aus- 
tria for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  he  prepared  an 


15a 


KING   GEORGE'S    WAR. 


[1740. 


army  of  thirty  thousand  men,  and  sent  them  into 
the  country,  in  December,  1740,  without  having' 
made  any  declaration  of  war,  or  any  demand  for  the 
province  ;  indeed,  he  had  until  then  professed  to  be 
friendl)^  to  the  interests  of  Maria  Theresa. 

After  filling  Silesia  with  his  forces,  Frederick 
sent  an  ambassador  to  the  Queen,  offering  to  aid  her 
against  her  other  enemies,  if  she  would  cede  to  him 
the  duchy  which  he  had  invaded,  which  she  indig- 
nantly refused  to  do.  He  then  overran  the  whole  of 
Lower  Silesia  with  his  troops,  and  Prussia  was  suc- 
cessful in  the  first  battle  with  Austria,  that  of  Moll- 
witz,  in  April,  1741,  though  Frederick  himself  ran 
away.  Then  all  the  other  claimants  rushed  on  to 
the  dismemberment  of  the  Austrian  Empire.  France 
took  the  part  of  the  Elector  of  Bavaria,  who  claimed 
the  throne.  Prussia,  France,  Spain,  and  Poland  were 
combined  against  the  Queen.  Thus  began  the  War 
of  the  Austrian  Succession. 

Maria  Theresa  was  obliged  to  yield  Silesia  to 
Frederick,  in  June,  1742,  but  succeeded  in  maintain- 
,  ing  her  claim  to  most  of  her  other  dominions,  while 
the  Elector  of  Bavaria  was  thoroughly  humbled. 
The  war  now  became  a  struggle  on  the  part  of  Aus- 
tria to  wrest  Alsace  and  Lorraine  from  France,  and 
Naples  from  Spain,  and  to  make  Bavaria  a  part  of 
the  Austrian  dominions.     England  had  aided  Aus- 


\=j 


1744] 


KING  GEORGE'S   WAR. 


153 


tria  by  subsidies  and  troops,  and  her  forces  met  the 
army  of  France  in  the  battle  of  Dettingen  in  June, 
1743.  But  it  was  not  until  March,  1744,  that  war 
was  formally  declared  between  France  and  England. 

When  the  news  of  the  declaration  of  war  was  sent 
to  Louisbonrg,  orders  were  also  sent  that  no  offen- 
sive measures  should  be  taken  until  reinforcements 
should  arrive.  But  it  was  thought  that  a  sudden  at- 
tack on  the  small  garrisons  at  Annapolis  and  Canso, 
before  help  could  arrive  from  New  England,  could 
not  fail  of  success.  Du  Vivier,  a  great-grandson  of 
Charles  la  Tour,  so  prominent  in  the  early  history 
of  Acadia,  taking  command  of  five  hundred  men,  of 
whom  two  hundred  were  Indians,  and  several  vessels, 
attacked  the  block-house  at  Canso,  in  May,  1744. 
Having  no  chance  of  a  successful  defence,  the  gar- 
rison of  eighty  men  surrendered  at  once,  and  were 
taken  to  Louisbourg,  on  condition  that  they  should 
be  sent,  at  the  end  of  a  year,  to  England  or  to 
Boston.  The  buildings  were  all  destroyed  by  Du 
Vivier's  men. 

It  remained  only  to  take  Annapolis.  The  fort 
was  an  earthwork  in  a  ruinous  condition,  held  by 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men  under  Paul  Mascarene. 
Du  Vivier  took  his  prisoners  to  Louisbourg,  and  re- 
mained there  some  time,  making  preparations  for 
going  to  Annapolis.     Meantime,  a   rumor  reached 


I   ■■;: 


154 


KING  GEORGE'S    WAR. 


['744- 


W\\ 


li 


that  place  that  five  hundred  French  and  Indians,  on 
the  way  to  attack  it,  were  already  on  the  river  above 
the  town.  A  vessel  soon  arrived  from  Boston  bring- 
ing news  of  the  declaration  of  war,  and  the  ofificers 
and  soldiers  of  the  garrison  sent  their  families  to 
Boston  by  the  return  of  the  galley,  two  other  ves- 
sels being  sent  with  it,  thus  greatly  relieving  the 
place  of  those  unable  to  bear  arms.  The  men  then 
went  to  work  repairing  the  fortifications. 

The  Indians  who  had  been  with  Du  Vivier  at 
Canso  grew  impatient  waiting  for  his  return  ;  and 
they  were  easily  persuaded  by  Belleisle,  a  scion  of 
the  St.  Castin  family,  to  march  against  Annapolis 
under  his  leadership  without  waiting  for  Du  Vivier. 
They  were  accompanied  by  their  priest,  La  Loutre, 
who,  like  most  of  the  priests  in  Acadia,  had  been 
faithfully  laboring  to  keep  his  flock  loyal  to  French 
interests.  If  the  Indians  had  been  supported 
by  Du  Vivier's  soldiers,  Annapolis  would  proba- 
bly have  fallen  ;  for  it  was  not  in  a  condition  to 
withstand  a  determined  assault.  But  the  Indians 
pursued  their  usual  methods,  picking  off  strag- 
glers and  firing  from  under  cover.  The  English  ^ 
sent  out  a  party  of  workmen  and  soldiers,  who  drove 
them  back  and  tore  down  all  buildings  that  could 
protect  them  from  the  guns  of  the  fort,  and  they 
were  glad  to  escape  with  a  few  stolen  cattle. 


1744] 


KING   GEORGE'S    WAR, 


155 


Reenforcements  were  sent  from  Boston  to  the 
number  of  one  hundred  men  or  more.  Du  Vivier 
returned  with  two  hundred  soldiers,  expecting  a 
general  rising  among  the  inhabitants  ;  but  there  was 
only  a  feeble  response  to  his  summons  to  them  to 
enlist  under  the  banner  of  France  and  bring  in  sup- 
plies for  the  expedition  ;  and  the  Indians  were  dis- 
heartened by  their  failure.  Many  of  the  savages, 
however,  joined  him,  and  late  in  August  he  began 
his  attack.  After  several  days  of  ineffectual  firing, 
he  sent  in  a  flag  of  truce,  saying  that  three  ships  of 
war  were  on  their  way  to  his  assistance,  together 
with  a  large  body  of  soldiers,  and  supplies  of  cannon 
and  mortars,  and  offering  to  accept  a  capitulation 
conditioned  on  their  arrival  ;  but  Mascarene  refused 
to  have  any  negotiations  with  him.  The  attacks 
were  resumed  and  kept  up  night  after  night,  until 
late  in  September,  when  another  reenforcement  ar- 
rived from  Boston. 

Having  learned  from  a  prisoner  that  Mascnrene 
talked  of  attacking  his  camp,  Du  Vivier  hastily  drew 
off  to  Minas,  and  finally  returned  to  Louisbourg. 
It  was  not  long  after  Du  Vivier  abandoned  the  siege, 
that  a  part  of  his  ships  arrived  ;  but  finding  him 
gone,  they  withdrew,  while  Mascarene  kept  his  men 
at  work  strengthening  the  defences  during  the  au- 
tumn and  winter,  in  expectation  of  another  attack. 


^1' 


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lllll    il: 


'56 


/frJ¥G  GEORGE'S    WAR. 


[1745. 


La  Loutre  gathered  a  force  of  Indians  again,  who 
were  joined  by  some  Canadian  troops,  and  in  the 
spring  they  made  a  feeble  attack  on  Annapolis, 
and  prowled  about  the  country,  but  with  no  greater 
success  than  the  capture  of  two  trading- vessels. 

The  soldiers  taken  at  Canso,  who  had  been  sent 
to  Boston  on  parole,  gave  information  regarding  the 
condition  of  the  fortress,  and  in  January,  1745,  the 
question  of  an  expedition  for  its  capture  began  to 
be  agitated.  Governor  Shirley  of  Massachusetts 
had  written  to  England  the  preceding  autumn, 
asking  help  for  the  protection  of  Nova  Scotia  and 
the  capture  of  Louisbourg ;  but  as  yet  no  answer 
had  been  received.  In  January  he  laid  the  project 
before  the  State  Legislature  in  a  secret  session.  It 
was  at  first  rejected,  so  improbable  did  it  seem  that 
a  provincial  force  could  effect  the  capture  of  the 
strongest  post  in  North  America.  But  afterward, 
on  a  complaint  from  the  merchants  of  Boston,  Sa- 
lem, and  Marblehead,  of  the  injuries  to  their  vessels 
I'rom  the  privateers  which  found  refuge  at  Louis- 
bourg, the  project  was  reconsidered,  and  resolved 
on  by  a  majority  of  one. 

The  other  provinces  were  asked  to  render  aid. 
Connecticut  sent  five  hundred  and  sixteen  men. 
New  Hampshire  three  hundred  and  four  ;  and  these, 
with  the   three    thousand    two    hundred    and  fifty 


i 


1745] 


KING   GEORGE'S    WAR. 


»57 


raised  in  Massachusetts,  constituted  the  whole  force. 
Rhode  Island  sent  three  hundred,  but  they  arrived 
too  late.  New  York  gave  some  artillery,  and  Penn- 
sylvania some  provisions.  The  New  England  colo- 
nies furnished  thirteen  armed  vessels.  Commodore 
Warren,  who  was  at  Antigua,  was  solicited  to  send 
some  of  his  ships,  but  declined  doing  so  without 
express  orders  from  England. 

It  was  a  question  who  should  command  this  expe- 
dition. With  the  exception  of  some  little  irregular 
fighting  with  the  Indians,  peace  had  reigned  through- 
out the  colonies  for  thirty  years  ;  and  there  were  no 
officers  to  be  had  in  the  provinces  with  any  knowl- 
edge of  the  science  of  regular  warfare.  The  choice 
fell  upon  William  Pepperell,  of  Kittery,  a  colonel 
of  militia,  who,  as  a  merchant,  a  landholder  in  three 
of  the  provinces,  and  a  man  of  clear  judgment  and 
weight  of  character,  would  be  likely  to  have  influence 
with  those  of  his  countrymen  who  were  to  be  led  on 
this  great  undertaking. 

Immense  enthusiasm  attended  the  fitting  out  of 
the  expedition.  Pepperell  sought  advice  from  the 
celebrated  preacher,  George  Whitefield,  on  the 
question  of  accepting  the  proffered  command,  and 
Whitefield  answered  that  if  he  should  fail,  the  re- 
sponsibility for  the  blood  of  the  fallen  would  be  laid 
to  his   charge,  and   that   if  he   should    succeed,  he 


m 


illf 


158 


KING  GEOHGE'S    WAR. 


1. 1 743. 


would  become  an  object  of  malicious  envy  lo  his 
fellow-citizens.  In  spite  of  this  dark  augury,  Pep- 
perell  accepted.  To  the  New  Hampshire  troops 
who  asked  him  for  a  motto,  Whitefield  gave,  Nil 
dcspcranduDt,  CJiristo  Duce — "Nothing  is  tc  be  de- 
spaired of,  Christ  being  the  leader."  In  this  spirit 
of  religious  enthusiasm,  one  of  the  volunteers  car- 
ried an  axe  wherewith  to  hew  down  the  crosses  and 
images  in  the  French  churches.  All  sorts  of  advice 
and  schemes  for  the  protection  of  the  volunteers 
and  the  speedy  capture  of  the  fort  were  laid  before 
the  officers.  One  inventive  enthusiast  brought  a 
model  of  a  flying  bridge  which  would  land  the  army 
within  the  walls  at  a  single  bound.  A  minister  had 
a  scheme  for  avoiding  the  explosion  of  mines, 
and  taking  Louisbourg  without  the  loss  of  a  life. 
Another  had  made  a  complete  plan  of  the  siege, 
the  camp,  the  batteries,  the  intrenchments.  Gov- 
ernor- Shirley's  instructions  were,  that  the  army 
should  land  in  the  night  and  march  to  surprise  the 
fortress  before  daybreak. 

Late  in  March,  1745,  the  fleet  set  sail,  carrying 
the  army  of  fishermen,  farmers,  mechai.ics,  and  lum- 
bermen, under  their  citizen  General,  Will  am  Pep- 
perell.  Brigadier- General  Waldo,  and  their  subor- 
dinate officers,  mostly  chosen  from  among  the 
church  deacons,  justices  of  the  peace,  and  other  cit- 


1745] 


KING  GEORGE'S    WAR. 


159 


izens  of  respectability  and  consideration  in  their 
townships.  Among  them  was  the  soldier,  Colonel 
William  Vaughan,  who  had  first  suggested  the  enter- 
prise to  Governor  Shirley. 

Arriving  at  Canso  early  in  April,  they  found  the 
coast  of  Cape  Breton  so  clogged  with  ice  that  not  a 
vessel  could  enter  the  harbors,  which  made  it  probable 
that  no  news  of  their  intentions  could  have  reached 
the  fort.  While  they  were  waiting,  Pepperell  had 
a  block-house  built  in  place  of  the  one  that  had 
been  destroyed  the  previous  year,  and  garrisoned  it 
with  eighty  men.  Their  spirits  were  raised  by  the 
capture  of  a  richly-loaded  vessel  on  its  way  from 
Martinique  to  Louisbourg,  and  still  more  by  the 
arrival  of  four  ships  of  war  under  Commodore  War- 
ren, who  had  received  instructions  from  England  to 
go  to  the  help  of  the  colonies,  just  after  his  refusal 
to  proceed  without  orders  had  been  despatched  to 
Boston.  More  ships  of  war  soon  after  arrived,  and 
in  a  few  days  Louisbourg  was  blockaded,  Warren's 
ships  guarded  the  entrance  to  the  harbor,  and  the 
places  in  the  vicinity  from  which  supplies  might  be 
sent  were  surprised  and  held. 

Louisbourg  was  fortified  with  a  stone  rampart 
thirty  feet  high  and  forty  feet  thick  at  the  base, 
which  swept  around  the  town  in  a  circuit  of  two 
miles,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  ditch  eighty  feet 


v\ 


i6o 


KING   GEORGE'S    WAR. 


[1745. 


l!;! 


v/ide.  Six  bastions  stood  out  from  this  great  wall, 
and  there  were  embrasures  for  a  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  cannon  and  six  mortars.  On  an  island  at  the 
entrance  of  the  harbor  was  a  battery  of  thirty 
pieces,  and  on  the  shore  opposite  the  entrance  was 
the  grand  or  royal  battery  of  twenty-eight  forty- 
two  pounders  and  two  eighteen-pounders,  with  a 
moat  and  bastions.  Near  the  drawbridge,  giving 
entrance  to  the  town  on  the  land  side,  was  a  circular 
battery  mounting  sixteen  twenty-four  pounders. 
This  fortress,  which  was  twenty-five  years  in  build- 
ing, cost  thirty  millions  of  livres,  and  was  called  the 
"  Dunkirk  of  America,"  is  now  a  lonely  ruin,  the 
former  military  importance  of  the  place  having 
entirely  passed  away. 

The  appearance  of  the  fleet  in  Chapeaurouge,  or 
Gabarus  Bay,  southward  from  the  city,  May  30th, 
was  the  first  intimation  of  danger  the  French  had 
received.  They  fired  cannon,  rang  bells,  and  ran 
about  in  confusion  ;  and  a  hundred  and  fitty  soldiers, 
under  an  officer  named  Boulardiere,  were  sent  out 
to  prevent  the  landing.  But  Pepperell  quietly  sent 
a  detachment  farther  up  the  Bay  while  Boulardiere's 
attention  was  fixed  on  the  spot  where  it  was  sup- 
posed the  attempt  would  be  made,  and  Boulardiere 
was  obliged  to  retire  into  the  city  again.  About 
two  thousand    men  were  landed  that  day,  and  by 


1745] 


KING  GEORGE'S    WAR. 


l6i 


the  next  night  all  were  on  shore.  Colonel  Vaughan 
took  a  party  of  New  Hampshire  men  and  marched 
past  the  city  to  the  northeast  harbor,  where  the) 
burned  a  number  of  warehouses  containing  naval 
stores  and  large  quantities  of  wine  and  brandy. 
The  smoke  was  carried  into  the  royal  battery,  a 
panic  seized  the  men  in  charge  of  it,  and  they 
spiked  their  guns  and  fled. 

In  the  morning  Vaughan's  men  took  possession 
of  the  deserted  battery.  Boat-loads  of  men  from 
the  city  came  to  dislodge  them,  but  Vaughan  stood 
on  the  shore  with  thirteen  men  and  prevented 
them  from  landing  till  reinforcements  came.  The 
spiked  cannon  were  drilled  out  and  turned  on  the 
city  and  the  island  battery,  throwing  a  deadly  fire 
within  the  walls  and  reaching  the  roof  of  the  cita- 
del. To  a  summons  to  surrender,  on  the  7th  of 
May,  Du  Chambon,  the  commandant,  returned  a 
refusal ;  but  his  men  had  been  so  mutinous  oefore 
the  siege  that  he  did  not  dare  trust  them  to  make 
a  sortie,  for  fear  of  desertion. 

In  order  to  place  batteries  for  more  effective  work, 
it  was  necessary  to  carry  the  guns  over  a  morass.  ' 
Sledges  were  made,  and  the  men  drew  them  by  straps 
passed  over  their  shoulders,  sinking  to  their  knees 
in  the  bog.    This  task  consumed  fourteen  nights. 

Several  attempts  were  made  by  the  besiegers  to 


<,     :i 


1 


:!rt^ 


I  i^  i  ll 


l62 


KING   GEORGE'S    WAR. 


[i745- 


take  the  island  battery,  but  all  without  success  ; 
one,  a  night  attack,  was  a  disastrous  failure.  The 
assailants,  discovered  before  they  could  land,  and 
met  by  a  sharp  fire,  were  glad  to  escape  after  nearly 
an  hour's  hard  fighting,  having  lost  sixty  men  killed 
and  a  hundred  and  sixteen  prisoners.  Despairing 
of  taking  the  island  battery,  the  Americans  then 
placed  a  battery  on  the  high  cape  at  the  light- 
house on  the  eastern  side  of  the  harbor,  which  com- 
manded the  island  battery,  and  nearly  silenced  it. 

The  siege  had  now  lasted  almost  six  weeks,  and 
the  city  had  neither  been  entered  nor  had  a  breach 
been  made  in  the  walls.  Other  ships  of  war  had 
arrived,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the  fleet  should  sail 
into  the  harbor  and  bombard  while  the  land 
forces  attempted  an  entrance  by  storm.  At  this 
time  the  Vigilant,  a  French  ship,  carrying  sixty- 
four  guns  arrived  with  military  supplies  for  the 
garrison,  and  was  taken  by  a  Massachusetts  frigate 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Edward  Tyng. 
Pepperell  sent  news  of  the  capture  to  Du  Chambon 
under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  this  so  discouraged  the 
commandant  that  he  determined  to  canitulate,  and 
on  the  17th  of  June  Louisbourg  was  surrendered, 
after  a  siege  of  forty-nine  days.  The  garrison,  the 
crew  of  the  Vigilant,  and  some  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town  were  sent  to  France. 


— —imin^liii 


1745] 


KING  GEORGE'S    WAR. 


163 


When  the  American  troop-  entered  the  fortress 
they  for  the  first  time  realized  the  strength  of  the 
place  and  the  magnitude  of  the  enterprise,  the 
undertaking  of  which  now  seemed  presumptuous, 
and  its  success  Httle  short  of  a  miracle.  With  the 
feeling  that  Providence  had  manifestly  interfered  to 
give  them  the  victory,  they  listened  to  the  chaplain 
who  proclaimed  the  gospel  according  to  Calvin  from 
the  altar  whence  they  had  cast  down  the  images 
and  the  tapers. 

There  was  great  rejoicing  in  Boston  when  a  swift- 
sailing  schooner  brought  news  of  the  victory  of 
which  the  anxious  communities  at  home  were  be- 
ginning to  despair.  Commodore  Warren  had  sent 
home  two  prisoners  some  weeks  before,  one  the 
commander  of  a  battery  without  the  walls  of  Louis- 
bourg,  the  other,  captain  of  a  captured  ship  ;  and 
these  men  had  given  descriptions  of  the  strength  of 
the  fortress,  which  made  New  England  tremble  for 
its  little  army.  But  now  bells  were  rung,  cannon 
fired,  and  tumultuous  crowds  added  their  voices  in 
a  general  shout  of  rejoicing. 

In  England  the  report  that  such  a  stronghold  had 
been  taken  by  an  untrained  army  of  provincials  could 
hardly  be  believed.  Sir  Peter  Warren,  tlie  naval 
commander,  acknowledged  the  services  of  the  colo- 
nists but  grudgmgly  ;  and  though  it  was  the  most 


I    I 


164 


KING   GEORGE'S    WAR. 


[1745- 


brilliant  success  the  English  achieved  during  the  war, 
English  historians  scarcely  mention  it.  Voltaire, 
however,  calls  the  capture  of  Louisbourg  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  events  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XV. 

General  Pepperell  was  made  a  baronet  for  his 
share  in  the  enterprise,  while  Governor  Shirley  re- 
ceived a  commission  in  the  regular  army,  and  after- 
ward held  the  chief  military  command  in  America. 
Colonel  Vaughan  went  to  England  to  present  his 
claims,  but  failed  to  receive  any  reward  for  his  ser- 
vices, and  died  in  London  in  obscurity  and  neglect. 

The  capture  of  Louisbourg  led  to  a  project  on  the 
part  of  the  English  authorities  to  conquer  Canada, 
and  one  by  the  French  to  recover  Cape  Breton  and 
Acadia,  and  devastate  the  New  England  coast. 
Governor  Shirley  wrote  to  the  British  ministry, 
urging  measures  for  the  conquest  of  Canada,  and  in 
response  the  Secretary  of  State  sent  orders  to  the 
governors  of  the  colonies,  as  far  south  as  Virginia, 
to  raise  as  many  men  as  possible,  and  have  them 
ready  for  action.  A  squadron  of  ships  and  some 
land  forces  were  to  be  sent  to  Louisbourg,  and  there 
met  by  the  New  England  troops,  when  the  united 
force  was  to  ascend  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Quebec. 
At  the  same  time  the  soldiers  from  New  York  and 
the  southern  colonies  were  to  assemble  at  Albany 
for  the  capture  of  Crown  Point  and  Montreal. 


mgmigmmtmm 


1746.] 


KING  GEORGE'S   WAR. 


165 


The  colonial  troops  were  readily  raised,  to  the 
number  of  about  eight  thousand  men,  and  waited 
for  the  fleet.  But  no  fleet  came.  When  the  season 
was  so  far  advanced  that  all  hopes  of  its  arrival  were 
given  up,  it  was  thought  best  to  employ  the  troops 
o»  dered  to  Albany  in  an  attack  on  Crown  Point  ;  and 
the  Iroquois  as  usual  were  found  willing  to  join  in 
the  undertaking.  The  New  England  troops  were 
ordered  to  Acadia,  on  the  sudden  intelligence  that 
the  inhabitants  were  on  the  eve  of  revolt,  and  that 
Annapolis  was  threatened  by  a  body  of  French  and 
Indians. 

During  the  same  season  a  large  fleet  had  been 
gathered  at  Brest  for  the  capture  of  Louisbourg, 
Annapolis,  and  Boston  ;  and  the  Canadians  and 
their  Indian  allies  were  to  be  ready  to  cooperate 
with  the  fleet  by  land.  Six  hundred  Canadians, 
therefore,  repaired  to  Acadia  in  June,  and  the  Mic- 
macs  and  Malicites  rallied  once  more  under  the 
banners  of  France.  This  force  was  waiting  at 
Chignecto  in  September  for  the  arrival  of  the  fleet, 
when  the  Governor  of  Canada,  having  heard  that 
the  New  England  forces  were  about  to  embark  for 
Acadia,  sent  orders  to  Ramezay,  their  commander, 
to  bring  them  back  to  Quebec.  But  as  Ramezay 
was  about^  to  go,  he  learned  tha*:  the  French  fleet 
had  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  Chebucto,  now  Halifax. 


n 


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166 


/r/NG   GEORGE'S    WAR. 


[1746. 


This  intelligence,  which  was  received  by  Rame- 
zay's  men  with  great  rejoicing,  and  had  filled  New 
England  with  consternation,  was  not  so  important 
as  it  seemed.  The  fleet  which  had  started  from 
France  on  the  22d  of  June,  under  the  command  of 
the  Due  d'Anville,  comprised  forty  ships  of  war, 
with  transports  carrying  more  than  three  thousand 
soldiers  and  all  kinds  of  military  stores.  It  was 
the  largest  armament  that  had  ever  been  sent  to 
American  shores.  But  a  tempest  had  scattered  the 
ships  soon  after  they  set  sail,  many  of  them  were 
compelled  to  return,  and  when  the  Due  d'Anville 
reached  Chebucto  he  had  only  three  of  his  war-ships 
and  a  few  transports  left.  An  Infectious  fever  was 
rapidly  disabling  the  soldiers  that  remained,  and  on 
the  i6th  of  September,  a  few  days  after  the  arrival, 
D'Anville  himself  suddenly  died,  not  without  sus- 
picion of  poison. 

More  ships  having  arrived,  the  officer  next  in  com- 
mand, Vice-Admiral  d'Estournelle,  proposed  in  a 
council  of  officers  that  the  undertaking  should  be 
abandoned  ;  for  some  ships  which  were  to  join  them 
from  Hispaniola  had  failed,  their  own  ships  were 
scattered,  and  twenty-four  hundred  of  their  men  had 
died  of  the  fever.  Three  ships  from  Hispaniola  had 
been  to  Chebucto,  but  had  returned  to  France  on 
failing  to  find  D'Anville's  fleet.     The  abandonment 


Hlji. 


mrmftmf-mmmmmim 


1746.1 


KING  GEORGE'S   WAR. 


167 


of  the  expedition  was  violently  opposed  by  the 
officers,  headed  by  Jonqui^re,  who  had  been  lately 
appointed  Governor  of  Canada  and  was  next  in 
command,  and  D'Estournelle,  excited  by  the  op- 
position, took  the  fever,  and  in  a  fit  of  delirium 
killed  himself  with  his  own  sword. 

Jonqui^re  resolved  to  attack  Annapolis  with  the 
forces  that  were  left  ;  but  when  they  arrived  off 
Cape  Sable,  another  storm  still  further  disabled 
the  ships,  and  news  was  brought  the  commander 
that  Louisbourg  and  Annapolis  were  both  defended 
by  English  ships.  So  the  French  vessels  could  do 
nothing  but  return  to  Brest. 

Ramezay,  with  his  Canadian  and  Indian  followers, 
went  into  winter  quarters  at  Chignecto,  where  his 
presence  was  a  constant  menace  to  .Annapolis. 
Mascerene,  commander  of  the  garVison  there,  sent 
to  Boston  for  troops,  and  five  hundred  men  were 
accordingly  despatched  in  December,  and  on  their 
arrival  were  stationed  at  Grand  Pr6,  near  the  River 
Gaspereaux  in  the  district  of  Minas. 

Ramezay  determined  to  send  a  force  against 
them,  and  in  January,  1747,  about  four  hundred 
Canadians  and  Indians  set  out,  under  an  officer 
named  De  Villiers.  For  two  weeks  they  travelled 
on  snow-shoes  and  dragged  their  supplies  on  sledges 
along  the  wintry  coast.     The  New  England  officers 


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KING  GEORGE'S   WAR. 


[1747. 


had  some  warning  of  the  danger;  but,  supposing 
the  enemy  to  be  isolated  by  the  season,  they  paid 
no  attention  to  it. 

On  the  loth  of  February  the  French  arrived  in  a 
dense  storm  of  snow,  which  prevented  them  from 
being  seen  by  the  sentries.  They  had  accurate  in- 
formation from  the  inhabitants  of  Grand  Pr6,  and 
ten  houses  where  the  officers  were  lodged  were 
selected  for  the  first  attack.  There  was  a  desper- 
ate resistance,  but  the  New  England  soldiers  were 
under  too  great  disadvantage  ;  sixty  were  killed, 
including  the  chief  officer.  Colonel  Arthur  Noble, 
and  sixty-nine  were  made  prisoners.  The  French 
lost  but  seven  killed  and  fourteen  wounded.  Those 
of  the  English  who  remained  could  not  escape, 
having  no  snow-shoes  ;  a  capitulation  was  at  length 
agreed  upon,  and  they  returned  to  Annapolis  under 
a  promise  not  to  bear  arms  in  Minas  and  adjoining 
districts  for  six  months. 

After  Jonqui^rc  returned  to  France,  another  fleet 
was  prepared  to  carry  troops  to  Canada  and  Nova 
Scotia,  and  placed  under  his  command.  He  set 
sail  in  May,  1747,  with  six  ships  of  war  and  some 
transports,  accompanied  by  six  merchant-ships  and 
a  frigate  bound  for  the  East  Indies.  An  English 
fleet  under  Admirals  Anson  and  Warren  set  out  in 
pursuit,  and  a  battle  was  fought  off  Cape  Finisterre 


I'iji. 


1747] 


KING  GEORGE'S   WAR. 


169 


on  the  3d  of  May,  which  resulted  in  a  complete 
victory  for  the  English.  They  took  six  ships  of 
war  and  all  the  merchantmen,  with  over  four 
thousand  prisoners.  The  captured  treasure  was 
afterward  taken  to  the  Bank  of  England  in  twenty 
wagons. 

The  people  on  the  western  frontier  had  been 
somewhat  disturbed  by  French  and  Indian  bands 
during  the  progress  of  the  war.  Rumford,  now 
Concord,  New  Hampshire,  was  unsuccessfully  at- 
tacked in  1746,  and  Fort  Massachusetts,  in  Wil- 
liamstown,  was  taken  by  a  large  party  in  the  same 
year.  Fort  Number  Four  on  the  Connecticut  was 
assailed  by  a  large  band  in  1747,  but  was  bravely 
and  successfully  defended  by  a  garrison  under  Cap- 
tain Phineas.  The  village  of  Saratoga  was  de- 
stroyed, and  the  inhabitants,  thirty  families  in  all, 
were  slaughtered. 

Nothing  was  done  in  America  this  year  by  the 
English,  though  the  colonists  believed  that  a  reason- 
able amount  of  aid  from  England  would  enable 
them  to  bring  all  Canada  under  British  sway.  It 
was  said  that  English  statesmen  thought  the  col- 
onies, if  their  strength  were  revealed  to  them  by 
such  a  conquest,  and  if  the  fear  of  French  inroads 
from  the  north  were  removed,  might  be  tempted 
to  assert  their  independence ;  particularly  as  they 


■- 

\ 

: 

\ 

; 
i 

'  i 

i    A 


\m 


I 


170 


ir/JVG  GEORGE'S    WAR. 


[17481 


were  growing  restive  under  some  of  the  exactions 
and  restrictions  imposed  upon  them.  However 
that  may  be — whether  EngUsh  statesmen  foresaw 
the  events  that  were  to  occur  within  thirty  years,  or 
whether  they  had  simply  not  awakened  to  the  im- 
portance of  their  colonial  possessions  in  America — 
not  only  was  nothing  done  to  reduce  Canada,  but 
Louisbourg  was  restored  to  France,  much  to  the 
chagrin  of  the  colonists  who  were  so  proud  of  its 
capture.  The  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  put 
an  end  to  the  war,  October  18,  1748,  gave  up  Louis- 
bourg for  Madras,  which  the  French  had  taken,  and 
left  the  boundaries  of  French  and  English  territory 
in  America  as  undefined  as  they  had  been  under 
former  treaties. 

Parliament  agreed  to  pay  to  the  colonists  all  the 
expenses  they  had  incurred  for  the  war,  and  in 
1749  two  hundred  and  fifteen  chests  of  Spanish 
dollars  and  one  hundred  casks  of  copper  coin  were 
sent  from  England  to  Boston.  This  money,  which 
amounted  to  about  a  million  dollars,  was  carried  to 
the  treasury  on  twenty-seven  carts  and  trucks. 


CHAPTER   X. 


Xi 


ACADIA  AFTER  THE   WAR. 

Failure  of  Negotiations  for  the  Adjustment  of  Boundaries— Encroach- 
ments of  the  French — Settlement  of  Halifax — Refusal  of  the 
Acadians  to  Take  the  Oath — Attacks  by  Indians — Burning  of  Beau- 
bassin — Fort  Lawrence — Fort  Beau  S^jour— Colonel  How's  Fate 
—Expedition  to  Acadia  -Fall  of  the  French  Forts — Escape  of  La 
Loutre — Exile  of  the  Acadians. 

During  the  nominal  peace  which  followed  the 
Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  representatives  of 
the  two  governments  were  anxiously  engaged  in  at- 
tempting to  settle  by  actual  occupation  the  question 
of  boundaries,  which  was  still  left  open  by  that 
treaty.  It  professed  to  restore  the  boundaries  as 
they  had  been  before  the  war  ;  and  before  the  war 
the  entire  basin  of  the  Mississippi,  as  well  as  the 
tract  between  the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  Gulf,  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  and  the  Kennebec,  was  claimed  by 
both  nations,  with  some  show  of  reason,  as  no  con- 
vention between  them  had  ever  defined  the  rights 
of  each.  Names  had  been  given  to  vast  tracts  of 
land  whose  limits  were  but  partly  defined,  or  at  one 
time  defined  in  one  way,  at  another  time  in  another, 
and  when  these  names  were  mentioned  in  treaties 


If 
11 


I 


.  ,i ; 


ill, 


172 


ACADIA  AFTER    THE    WAR. 


[1749- 


they  were  understood  by  each  party  acjording  to  its 
own  interest.  The  treaty  of  1748,  therefore,  not 
only  left  abundant  cause  for  future  war,  but  left  oc- 
casion for  the  continuance  of  petty  border  hostilities 
in  time  of  nominal  peace.  Commissioners  were  ap 
pointed,  French  and  English,  to  settle  the  question 
of  the  disputed  territory,  but  the  differences  were 
too  wide  to  be  adjusted  by  anything  but  conquest. 

While  the  most  important  question  was  that  of 
the  great  extent  of  territory  at  the  west,  and,  as 
we  shall  hereafter  see,  both  nations  were  devising 
means  for  establishing  their  claims  to  it,  Acadia,  or 
Nova  Scotia,  was  the  scene  of  a  constant  petty  war- 
fare. The  French  were  determined  to  restrict  the 
English  province  to  the  peninsula  now  known  by 
that  name.  The  Governor  of  Canada  sent  a  few  men 
under  Boishebert  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John's  to 
hold  that  part  of  the  territory.  A  little  old  fort 
built  by  the  Indians  had  stood  for  fifty  years  on  the 
St.  John's  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nerepis,  and  there 
the  men  established  themselves.  A  larger  number 
was  sent  under  La  Corne  to  keep  possession  of  Chig- 
necto,  on  the  isthmus  which,  according  to  French 
claims,  formed  the  northern  boundary  of  English 
territory. 

In  all  the  years  that  England  had  held  nominal 
rule  in  Acadia,  not  a  single  English  settlement  had 


1749] 


ACADIA   AFTER    THE    WAK. 


173 


been  formed,  and  apparently  not  a  step  of  progress 
had  been  taken  in  gaining  the  loyalty  of  the  inhab- 
itants. A  whole  generation  had  grown  up  during  the 
time  ;  but  they  were  no  less  devoted  to  France  than 
their  fathers  had  been.  It  was  said  that  the  King 
of  England  had  not  one  truly  loyal  subject  in  the 
peninsula,  outside  of  the  fort  at  AnnapoHs.  When 
the  inhabitants  did  not  choose  to  obey  the  orders  of 
the  English  authorities,  they  represented  themselves 
as  being  under  fear  of  the  Indians  ;  and  the  Indians 
were  constantly  urged  to  their  share  in  the  proceed- 
ings by  the  persuasions  and  inducements  of  the 
priests  and  emissaries  of  the  Canadian  Government. 
No  doubt,  also,  the  bond  of  religion  was  the  strong- 
est influence  that  held  the  Acadians  faithful  to 
France. 

Among  the  schemes  suggested  for  remedying  this 
state  of  affairs,  was  one  by  Governor  Shirley,  to 
place  strong  bands  of  English  settlers  in  all  the  im- 
portant towns,  in  order  that  the  Government  might 
have  friends  and  influence  throughout  the  country. 
Nothing  came  of  this  ;  but  in  1749  Parliament  voted 
forty  thousand  pounds  for  the  purpose  of  settling  a 
colony.  Inducements  were  offered  to  discharged 
soldiers  and  sailors,  and  to  farmers  and  mechanics 
to  join  the  colony.  They  were  to  be  carried  over 
free,  to  be  furnished  with  farming  and  fishing  im- 


W^ 


i  ', 
t 
i 
i  ; 


'74 


ACADIA   AFTER    THE   WAH. 


[1749. 


plements,  and  to  be  maintained  free  of  expense  for 
one  year.  Grants  of  land  were  offered  also,  privates 
from  the  army  and  navy  were  to  receive  fifty  acres 
each,  and  officers  more,  according  to  their  rank. 
No  quit-rents  were  to  be  required  for  the  first  ten 
years.  Twenty- five  hundred  persons  being  ready  to 
go  in  less  than  two  months  from  the  time  of  the 
first  advertisement,  the  colony  was  entrusted  to 
Colonel  Edward  Cornwallis  (uncle  of  the  Cornwallis 
of  the  Revolutionary  War),  and  he  was  made  Gov- 
ernor of  Nova  Scotia.  Chebucto  was  selected  as  the 
site  of  the  colony,  and  the  town  was  named  Halifax 
in  honor  of  the  president  of  the  Lords  of  Trade  and 
Plantations.  Within  four  months  a  clearing  was 
made,  and  three  hundred  houses  were  built. 

In  July,  a  council  was  held  at  Halifax,  when  Gov- 
ernor Cornwallis  gave  the  French  deputies  a  paper 
declaring  what  the  Government  would  allow  to  the 
French  subjects,  and  what  would  be  required  of 
them.  They  were  to  be  left  in  peaceable  possession 
of  their  property  and  the  free  exercise  of  their  re- 
ligion, provided  they  should  take  the  oath  of  allegi- 
ance to  the  British  Government,  submit  to  its  laws, 
and  give  all  possible  countenance  and  assistance  to 
settlers  who  should  be  sent  out  under  his  Majesty's 
orders.  To  this  the  people  replied  by  their  depu- 
ties,  asking  that   they  might   enjoy  the   privileges 


1749] 


ACADIA   AFTER    THE   WAR. 


'75 


mentioned,  under  condition  of  taking  a  qualified 
oath,  one  that  should  exempt  them  from  bearing 
arms  in  case  of  war,  even  in  defence  of  their  own 
province.  Such  an  oath  had  been  allowed  in  certain 
cases  twenty  years  before  ;  and  the  precedent  was 
urged  at  this  time.  They  wished  to  stand  as  neu- 
trals, and,  indeed,  were  often  called  so. 

Cornwallis  replied  that  nothing  less  than  entire 
allegiance  would  be  accepted.  Then  the  deputies 
asked  if  they  might  sell  their  property  and  leave 
the  peninsula,  and  were  told  that  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht  gave  them  a  year  in  which  to  withdraw  from 
the  province  with  their  effects,  if  they  preferred  that 
to  becoming  subjects  of  Great  Britain  ;  but  that 
now  there  was  no  alternative  but  confiscation  or  en- 
tire allegiance.  About  a  month  later  the  people 
sent  in  a  declaration  with  a  thousand  signatures, 
stating  that  they  had  resolved  not  to  take  the  oath, 
but  were  determined  to  leav^e  the  country.  Corn- 
wallis took  no  steps  to  coerce  them,  but  wrote  to 
England  for  instructions. 

A  treaty  was  made  between  the  Governor  and  the 
chiefs  of  the  Indians  in  July  ;  but  on  the  occasion 
of  the  building  of  a  block-house  by  the  English  at 
Minas,  the  Indians  were  instigated  to  violate  the 
treaty,  and  attacks  were  made  by  them  on  Canso 
and  Minas,  and  some  vessels  in  the  harbor  of  Chig- 


■'1 

M 

i 

(• 

■ 
1 

:  -^ 
t    < 

i 

i 

\\i 

\ 

\\ . 

I      { 

1     J 

i 

176 


A  CAD  J  A   AFTER    THE   IVAH. 


[1750. 


P       ! 


necto.  It  was  supposed  that  the  missionary  priest 
La  Loutre  was  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  trouble  with 
the  Indians  and  much  of  the  disloyalty  of  the  Aca- 
dians  ;  one  means  of  coercion  was  always  at  his 
service,  the  refusal  of  the  sacramei  i  to  the  disobe- 
dient. 

In  the  following  year  Cornwallis  sent  four  hundred 
men,  under  Major  Lawrence,  to  Chignecto  to  build 
a  block-house.  A  little  river  called  the  Messagouche 
was  claimed  by  the  French  as  their  southern  boun- 
dary ;  and  a  force  under  La  Corne  had  been  keeping 
possession  of  the  isthmus.  On  the  southern  bank 
was  a  prosperous  village  called  Beaubassin,  and  La 
Corne  had  compelled  its  inhabitants  to  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  King  of  France.  When  Law- 
rence arrived,  all  the  inhabitants  of  Beaubassin,  about 
one  thousand,  having  been  persuaded  by  La  Loutre, 
set  fire  to  their  houses,  and  leaving  behind  the  fruits 
of  years  of  industry,  turned  their  backs  on  their  fer- 
tile fields,  and  crossed  the  river,  to  put  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  La  Corne's  troops.  Many 
Acadians  from  other  parts  of  the  peninsula  also  left 
their  homes,  and  lived  in  exile  and  poverty  under 
the  French  dominion,  hoping  for  a  speedy  change 
of  masters  in  Nova  Scotia. 

Lawrence  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  work  oa 
which  he  had  been  sent,  since  La  Corne  had  a  very 


1750.]  • 


ACADIA   AFTER    THE   WAR. 


177 


large  force  at  his  command  ;  but  later  in  the  season 
he  went  again  to  Chignecto  with  a  larger  body  of 
troops.  Their  landing  was  opposed  by  a  band  of 
Indians  assisted  by  some  of  the  Acadians,  intrenched 
behind  the  dikes,  and  in  the  assault  six  English- 
men were  killed  and  twelve  wounded.  This  was 
the  first  blood  shed  since  the  peace  of  Aix-Ia- 
Chapelle.  Lawrence's  men  proceeded  to  build  a 
fort  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Messagouche,  which 
was  called  Fort  Lawrence,  and  garrisoned  by  six 
hundred  men. 

In  the  same  year  a  large  French  fort.  Beau  S^jour, 
was  built  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Messagouche, 
and  a  smaller  one,  Gaspereaux,  at  Bale  Verte. 
Other  stations  were  also  planted,  foi  ""ing  a  line  of 
fortified  posts  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  John's.  An  instance  of  the  treach- 
ery of  La  Loutre  about  this  time  is  recorded.  Cap- 
tain Edward  How,  an  officer  well  known  to  the 
country  and  the  Indians,  was  sent  to  Fort  Lawrence 
by  the  Governor,  that  he  might  use  his  influence  to 
keep  the  Indians  peaceful.  He  sometimes  met 
French  officers  on  the  Messagouche  with  flags  of 
truce,  and  messages  were  in  that  way  sent  between 
the  forts.  La  Loutre  dressed  an  Indian  like  a 
French  officer,  and  sent  him  down  the  river  with  a 
flag  of  truce,  and  Captain  How  came  unsuspiciously 


'\. 


! 

M 

'.i 


1       .i 


178 


ACADIA   AFTER    THE    WAR. 


[1754. 


n! 


Il- 


iiitii 


to  meet  him,  when  some  Indians  who  were  con- 
cealed on  the  bank  arose  and  shot  him  dead. 

The  Acadians  made  repeated  attempts  to  induce 
Cornwallis  to  allow  them  to  take  the  qualified  oath, 
threatening  to  leave  the  province  and  to  neglect 
sowing  their  fields.  Cornwallis  seems  to  have  treat- 
ed them  with  mildness  and  consideration,  but  was 
firm  in  his  refusal  to  take  less  than  an  oath  of  full  al- 
legiance. Many  of  those  who  had  exiled  themselves 
asked  permission  to  return,  but  through  the  influ- 
ences brought  to  bear  upon  them  by  the  French, 
declined  to  fulfil  the  conditions  required.  La  Loutre 
told  them  that  if  they  returned  and  yielded  allegi- 
ance they  should  be  allowed  neither  priests  nor 
sacraments,  and  as  he  was  Vicar-General  for  Acadia 
under  the  Bishop  of  Quebec,  he  probably  had  power 
to  make  good  his  threat. 

In  the  following  years,  the  Acadians  refused  to 
bring  supplies  to  the  English  forts,  even  at  their 
own  prices,  and  in  1754  three  hundred  of  them 
went  to  work  at  Fort  Beau  S6jour.  refusing  the 
offer  of  employment  on  government  works  at  Hali- 
fax. Their  rebellious  conduct  was  imitated  by  some 
Germans  lately  settled  at  Lunenburg,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor was  obliged  to  send  soldiers  to  subdue  them. 

The  commission  appointed  to  settle  the  question 
of  boundaries  had  broken  up  without  accomplishing 


wmmm 


1755.] 


ACAD/A   AFTER    THE    WAR. 


»79 


any  results ;  and  it  was  resolved  by  the  authorities 
in  Nova  Scotia  and  Massachusetts  that  an  xpedi- 
tion  should  be  sent  against  Fort  Beau  S^jour.  The 
enterprise  was  planned  by  Governor  Shirley  and 
Colonel  Lawrence,  then  in  command  in  Nova  Sco- 
tia. Great  care  was  taken  to  keep  the  matter  se- 
cret, that  the  garrison  might  be  taken  completely 
by  surprise.  Arms  and  boats  had  been  taken  from 
the  Acadians  ;  and  during  the  summer,  when  it  was 
rumored  that  a  French  fleet  had  arrived  in  the  Bay 
of  Fundy,  they  offered  memorials  to  the  council, 
asking  for  the  restoration  of  their  arms,  and  exemp- 
tion from  the  oath.  This  was  refused  ;  and  the  dep- 
uties, on  again  declining  to  take  the  oath,  were 
ordered  into  confinement. 

The  Governor  then  issued  orders  to  all  the  French 
inhabitants  to  send  in  new  deputies,  who  should  ex- 
press their  final  intentions  with  regard  to  the  oath  ; 
warning  them  that  any  who  now  rei'used  would  not 
thereafter  be  allowed  to  take  it,  "  but  that  effectual 
measures  ought  to  be  taken  to  remove  all  such  rec- 
usants out  of  the  province."  Deputies  were  sent 
in  representing  over  five  hundred  of  the  inhabitants  ; 
all  refused  to  take  the  required  oath,  and  were  or-  ' 
dered  into  confinement.  It  had  been'determined  to 
expel  the  people  from  the  province  in  rase  they 
should  refuse,  "  and,"  says  the  record  of  the  council, 


II 

'  if 


I 


*  i  If 
■  1 


■t.,'; 


) 


X\ 


,-♦■  t- 
I 


i8o 


ACADIA  AFTER   THE   WAR. 


[1755. 


"  nothing  now  remained  to  be  considered  but  what 
measures  should  be  taken  to  send  them  away,  and 
where  they  should  be  sent  to." 

Meantime,  Massachusetts  had  raised  about  two 
thousand' troops  for  the  contemplated  enterprise, 
who  were  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
John  Winslow.  To  this  force  were  added  about 
three  hundred  regulars,  and  the  whole  was  placed 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Monck- 
ton.  They  reached  Chignecto  on  the  2d  of  June, 
and  the  following  day  encamped  about  Fort  Law- 
rence. De  Vergor,  commander  at  Beau  S6jour,  had 
neglected  to  take  measures  for  strengthening  his 
position,  though  some  rumors  of  the  intended  attack 
had  reached  him.  Now,  however,  having  quite  a 
large  force  at  his  disposal,  consisting  of  a  hundred 
and  sixty-five  soldiers,  and  several  hundred  Aca- 
dians  who  had  obeyed  the  summons  to  come  into 
the  fort,  he  set  to  work  to  complete  the  defences. 

On  the  4th  the  English  began  by  attacking  the 
block-house  at  Pont-a  Buot,  some  miles  east  of  Beau 
S6jour,  and  took  it  in  an  hour,  the  French  running 
away  in  a  panic  and  setting  fire  to  the  block-house 
and  all  the  houses  they  passed  on  their  flight  to  the 
fort.  Several  days  were  consumed  by  Monckton's 
men  in  making  a  bridge  over  the  river  and  cutting 
a  road  by  which  to  carry  their  cannon  to  an  emi- 


1755-] 


ACADIA    AFTER    THE    WAR. 


l8l 


nence  north  of  the  fort.  Small  parties  had  been 
sent  from  the  fort  to  interrupt  them,  but  without 
effecting  anything.  On  the  13th  their  cannon  were 
in  place,  and  the  attack  began.  The  next  day  De 
Vergor  received  an  answer  from  Louisbourg,  whither 
he  had  sent  for  reinforcements,  that  no  men  could 
be  spared,  owing  to  a  threatened  assault  from  an 
English  squadron. 

De  Vergor  and  his  officers  tried  to  conceal  this  in- 
telligence from  the  Acadians  at  the  fort,  who  had 
been  led  to  believe  that  certain  help  was  to  come 
from  Louisbourg  ;  but  it  was  run.ored  about  among 
them,  and  many  of  them,  on  De  Vergor's  refusal  to 
dismiss  them,  escaped  from  the  fort  in  the  night. 
On  the  i6th  the  mortars  were  in  position,  and  the 
shells  made  such  havoc  in  the  fort  that  De  Vergor  re- 
solved to  surrender.  The  terms  were  soon  arranged, 
and  Monckton  took  possession  the  same  evening. 
The  garrison  were  allowed  to  leave  with  their  arms, 
to  be  sent  to  Louisbourg,  under  promise  not  to  bear 
arms  in  America  for  six  months.  The  Acadians 
who  had  been  forced  to  take  up  arms  were  granted 
a  general  amnesty.  Many  of  them  had  asked  De 
Vergor,  when  they  were  summoned  to  the  fort,  to 
threaten  them  with  death  unless  they  complied. 

La  Loutre,  since  none  of  the  terms  of  the  capitu- 
lation would  apply  to  him,  fearing  the  vengeance 


1 
1 


t=1 


'  -r 


f  : 


1  \\\ 

i-Xl-i,. 

i  W  \' 
t  :- '  - 


Ui! 


U1:J 


^ir 


182 


ACAD/A    AFTER    THE    WAR. 


[»755 


of  the  English,  escaped  in  disguise,  and  made  his 
way  through  the  wilderness  to  Quebec.  Here  the 
Bishop,  who  had  not  approved  of  his  course  in 
Acadia,  reproached  him  with  having  neglected  re- 
ligion for  politics.  As  he  was  without  a  home, 
friends,  position,  or  influence  in  the  New  World,  he 
embarked  for  France  ;  but  the  vessel  was  captured 
by  an  English  ship,  and  the  Abbe  La  Loutre  was 
imprisoned  on  the  Island  of  Jersey  till  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  came  out,  to  find  not  only  Acadia, 
but  all  of  Canada  and  the  Ohio  basin,  irretrievably 
lost  to  France. 

After  Beau  Sejour,  the  smaller  forts  were  quickly 
reduced.  Some  vessels  sent  to  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  John's  found  the  French  fort  deserted  and 
burned.  The  name  of  Beau  Sejour  was  changed  to 
Cumberland. 

The  Government  had  now  determined  to  carry 
out  the  threat  of  expelling  the  Acadians  from  the 
peninsula.  No  doubt  some  justification  for  this  act 
may  be  found  in  the  long  course  of  provocations 
given  by  them  since  they  had  been  under  English 
rule.  They  had  steadily  refused  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  England,  and  had  claimed  the  position 
of  neutrals.  Had  they  maintained  this  position,  it 
is  quite  probable  that  the  authorities  would  have 
allowed  theni  to^  keep  it  undisturbed  ;  but  they  had 


IM 


1755-] 


ACADIA    AFTER    THE    WAR. 


183 


repeatedly  abandoned  it  in  favor  of  the  French.  On 
every  occasion  when  the  French  seemed  about  to 
regain  their  supremacy  they  gave  them  open  aid ; 
and  at  other  times  they  looked  on  with  indiffer- 
ence, if  not  with  applause,  at  the  barbarities  of  the 
Indians  against  the  English.  And  now,  when  the 
two  countries  were  evidently  on  the  eve  of  war,  it 
was  perhaps  excusable  in  the  dominant  power  that 
it  should  take  measures  to  rid  itself  of  an  enemy 
within  its  own  territory.  Yet  the  exile  of  the  Aca- 
dians  remains  one  of  the  saddest  incidents  of  history, 
and  hf  almost  universal  consent  is  branded  as  a 
crime.  The  simple  and  pastoral  character  of  the 
people  is  dwelt  upon  ;  and  it  is  pro')able  that  the 
mass  of  them  would  have  been  innocent  of  hostile 
actions  if  they  had  been  deprived  of  a  few  of  the 
priests  and  leaders  who  were  constantly  inciting 
them  against  the  English. 

It  was  decided  to  distribute  the  Acadians  among 
the  various  English  colonies,  in  order  that  they 
might  not  go  to  strengthen  the  settlements  of 
Canada.  It  was  necessary  to  assemble  them  with- 
out letting  them  know  the  object  for  which  they 
were  called  together,  and  then  detain  them  un- 
til the  transports  were  ready  to  take  them  away. 
They  were  to  be  allowed  to  carry  with  them  their 
ready  money  and  their  household  goods ;  all  their 


H 


i  I 


1     •> 


.  ^ 


AM 


** 


1 84 


ACADIA   AFTER    THE    WAR. 


[1755. 


Other  effects  were   to   be   declared   forfeit   to   the 
Crown. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  collecting  the  inhab- 
itants at  several  places  in  different  districts.  At 
Chignecto  and  Annapolis  the  design  was  suspected, 
and  most  of  the  people  escaped.  Their  houses  were 
burned  down,  and  as  many  of  the  fugitives  as  could 
be  collected  were  put  on  board  the  transports. 
Winslow,  who  had  charge  of  the  business  at  Grand 
Pr6  in  the  district  of  Minas,  was  most  successful. 
A  proclamation  was  issued  ordering  all,  **  both  old 
men  and  young  men,  as  well  as  all  the  lads  of  ten 
years  of  age,  to  attend  at  the  church  of  Grand  Pr6, 
on  Friday,  the  5  th  instant,  at  three  of  the  clock  in 
the  afternoon,  that  we  may  impart  to  them  what  we 
are  ordered  to  communicate  to  them."  No  excuse 
would  be  accepted  for  failure  to  attend  ;  but  goods 
and  chattels  would  be  forfeited  by  disobedience,  in 
default  of  real  estate. 

At  three  o'clock  on  Friday,  the  5th  of  Septem- 
ber, four  hundred  and  eighteen  men  assembled  in 
the  church  at  Grand  Pr6,  unsuspicious  of  the.  object 
for  which  they  were  summoned.  The  doors  were 
closed  and  guarded,  and  the  men  were  then  ad- 
dressed by  Winslow,  who  told  them  : 

"You  are  called  together  to  hear  his  Majesty's 
final  resolution  in  regard  to  you*    For  almpst  half  9 


1755] 


ACADIA   AFTER    THE    WAR. 


185 


century  you  have  had  more  indulgence  granted  to 
you  than  any  of  his  subjects  in  any  other  part  of  his 
dominions,  though  what  use  you  have  made  of  the 
indulgence  you  yourselves  best  know.  The  duty 
which  is  laid  on  me,  though  necessary,  is  very  dis-  • 
agreeable  to  my  natural  make  and  temper,  as  I  know 
it  must  be  grievous  to  you.  His  Majesty's  orders 
and  instructions  are,  that  your  lands  and  tenements, 
cattle  of  all  kinds,  and  live  stock  of  all  sorts,  are 
forfeited  to  the  Crown,  with  all  your  other  effects, 
saving  your  money  and  household  goods  ;  and  you 
yourselves  are  to  be  removed  from  the  province.  I 
am,  through  his  Majesty's  goodness,  directed  to 
allow  you  to  carry  away  your  money  and  household 
goods,  so  far  as  you  can  without  discommoding  the 
vessels  you  are  to  go  in."  He  promised  that  fami- 
lies should  be  kept  together,  and  that  he  would 
make  the  removal  as  easy  for  them  as  possible. 

The  blow  was  sudden  and  terrible  ;  they  could  not 
believe  at  first  that  it  was  anything  but  a  threat. 
When  they  became  convinced  that  it  was  really  in- 
tended to  tear  them  from  their  homes  and  scatter 
them  among  strange  people,  and  that  the  guard 
made  escape  impossible,  they  begged  to  be  allowed 
at  least  to  go  out  and  prepare  for  removal,  offering 
to  leave  a  number  as  hostages.  Winslow  thought  it 
would  not  be  safe  to  permit  them  to  go  out  in  a 


i86 


ACADIA    AFTER    THE    WAR. 


[»755. 


11 


body  ;  but  he  allowed  ten  to  go  at  a  time.  After- 
ward, seeing  some  movements  he  thought  suspicious 
among  them,  he  was  obliged  to  refuse  even  that 
privilege.  It  was  decided  to  remove  the  men  to 
the  vessels  in  the  harbor,  and  keep  the  women  and 
children  on  shore  until  the  transports  should  arrive 
to  carry  them  away.  The  men  were  so  reluctant  to 
obey  the  order  to  march  to  the  ships  that  the  sol- 
diers had  to  drive  them  with  their  bayonets.  The 
women  and  children  crowded  along  the  way,  kneel- 
ing and  praying,  while  the  men  marched  past  them 
singing  hymns.  Those 'left  behind  were  kept  near 
the  shore,  with  insufficient  food  and  clothing,  for 
more  than  a  month.  Twenty-four  young  men  es- 
caped from  the  ships  ;  but  all  but  two  of  them  re- 
turned, rather  than  stay  behind  and  be  separated 
from  their  families. 

On  the  loth  of  October  the  transports  arrived  ; 
and  care  was  taken  to  bring  families  together  ;  but 
in  the  confusion  they  were  separated  in  many  cases. 
The  number  of  those  thus  exiled  has  sometimes 
been  placed  at  seven  thousand.  This  is  the  estimate 
of  the  number  that  would  have  to  be  removed 
which  was  given  by  Colonel  Lawrence  when  the 
scheme  was  first  proposed,  and  probably  includes 
nearly  the  whole  population  of  the  peninsula. 
More  than  three  thousand  escaped  to  the  country 


1755.] 


ACADIA   AFTER    THE    WAR. 


i87 


about  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs,  some  went  to  Quebec, 
and  some  took  refuge  with  the  Indians  ;  so  that 
the  whole  number  of  those  removed  by  the  English 
did  not  exceed  three  thousand. 

The  houses  and  barns  left  by  the  exiles  were 
burned  to  the  ground.  The  cattle  and  horses  were 
seized  as  spoils  by  the  officers.  The  dikes  which  the 
people  had  raised  against  the  ocean,  enclosing  some 
of  the  most  fertile  lands  in  the  whole  region,  were 
left  to  go  to  ruin,  and  the  ocean  broke  over  the  de- 
serted fields.  The  exiles  were  scattered  through 
the  British  colonies,  some  as  far  south  as  Georgia. 
They  became  a  charge  upon  the  public,  and  even 
the  support  of  paupers  was  grudgingly  allotted  them. 
A  bill  is  on  record  which  was  sent  in  for  the  support 
of  "  three  French  pagans,"  and  they  were  sent  from 
town  to  town  on  one  and  another  pretext,  while 
their  children  were  taken  from  them  at  the  option 
of  the  town  authorities.  They  clung  with  unfailing 
constancy  to  their  own  religion  ;  and  this,  by  keep- 
ing them  a  separate  people  among  their  captors,  no 
doubt  contributed  much  to  the  feeling  against 
them.  Yet  instances  are  on  record  where  their 
complaints  were  listened  to  and  redress  granted  by 
the  authorities,  and  where  private  generosity  took 
pity  on  their  sorrows. 

Some  of  those  who  were  sent  to  Georgia  escaped 


lis  ■: 


'^ 


M. 


M 


r 


iS8 


A  CAD/ A   AFTER    THE   WAR, 


[1755- 


to  the  ocean  in  boa*^s  and  went  coasting  along  the 
sliore,  in  hopes  to  reach  their  native  country  ;  but 
they  were  stopped  and  detained  on  the  coast  of 
New  England  by  orders  from  the  authorities  in 
Nova  Scotia.  One  small  colony  went  to  Guiana. 
Some  found  their  way  to  France  ;  and  two  villages 
near  Bordeaux  are  said  to  be  inhabited  by  their  de- 
scendants. Some  planted  settlements  in  Louisiana 
in  the  districts  of  Attakapas  and  Opelousas,  where 
they  and  their  descendants  went  for  a  long  time 
under  the  name  of  "  Cajeans. " 

Longfellow's  poem  "  Evangeline"  is  founded  on 
the  removal  of  the  inhabitants  of  Grand  Pr6. 


CHAPTER   XI. 


THE  OHIO   VALLEY. 

French  Posts  in  the  West— Ogdensburg — Sir  William  Johnson — 
Conference  with  the  Iroquois — Expedition  of  Bienville— The 
Walking  Purchase — The  Ohio  Company — Christopher  Gist — Ind- 
ian Conference  at  Logstown — French  Attack  on  Picqua — Expe- 
dition from  Canada— Mission  of  George  Washington — Fort  Du 
Quesne — Fight  with  Jumonville— Fort  Necessity — Fight  at  Great 
Meadows — Fort  Cumberland — Council  at  Albany. 

The  establishment  of  French  forts  and  trading- 
posts  at  various  points  in  the  West  has  already 
been  spoken  of.  Fort  Frontenac  at  the  head  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  Fort  Frederick  at  Crown  Point  on 
Lake  Champlain,  Fort  Niagara  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Niagara,  and  the  posts  at  Erie,  Sandusky,  Detroit, 
Mackinaw,  Chicago,  and  on  the  Maumee,  the  Wa- 
bash, and  the  Mississippi,  formed  a  line  of  French 
stations,  and  supplied  communication  between  the 
East  and  the  Southwest.  Missions  and  trading- 
houses  were  scattered  through  the  regions  of  the 
lakes  and  the  great  rivers,  at  points  favorable  for 
trade  and  navigation  ;  and  one  French  adventurer, 
as  early  as  1731,  had  carried  a  line  of  trading- 
posts  one  hundred  leagues  beyond  Lake  Winnipeg, 
and  built  Fort  de  la  Reine  on  the  Assiniboin.   After 


|i 


^' 


S~fMp 


'  Jll 


190 


THE  OHIO   VALLEY, 


[1749- 


the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  the  attention  of  both 
governments  was  drawn  to  the  necessity  of  vigor- 
ous measures  west  of  the  AUeghanies. 

In  1749,  the  mission  of  La  Presentation  was 
established  at  Oswegatchie,  on  the  present  site  of 
Ogdensburg,  by  a  French  priest,  Father  Francis 
Picquet.  He  hoped  by  means  of  it  to  effect  what 
the  French  had  labored  so  long  to  accomplish  by 
diplomacy  and  flattery,  by  the  missions  to  the  Mo- 
hawks and  Onondagas,  to  break  up  the  friendship 
of  the  Iroquois  for  the  English,  and  win  them  over 
to  the  French  interest.  Father  Picquet  was  with  an 
expedition  that  destroyed  Fort  Edward  during  King 
George's  War,  an  enterprise  which  he  had  been  the 
first  to  suggest.  In  1748  he  proposed  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Canada  to  found  a  settlement  at  Oswegatch- 
ie, a  point  which  he  thought  most  advantageously 
situated  for  intercepting  the  progress  of  the  English 
and  for  influencing  the  Six  Nations.  He  was  di- 
rected to  incite  them  to  the  destruction  of  Oswego, 
and  thus  secure  to  the  French  the  uninterrupted 
control  of  the  great  highway  along  the  lakes  and 
their  connecting  waters.  | 

After  much  opposition,  he  established  himself  at 
Oswegatchie  with  soldiers  and  workmen,  built  a 
saw-mill,  and  soon  had  a  palisaded  fort  and  several 
other  buildings,  and  some  lands  cleared  on  which  to 


1750} 


THE  OHIO    VALLEY. 


191 


settle  a  colony  of  Indians.  During  the  peace,  the 
settlement  grew  rapidly  ;  in  a  few  years  there  were 
three  Indian  villages  gathered  about  the  fort.  At 
the  visit  of  the  Bishop  of  Quebec  during  the  first 
year  of  the  mission  one  hundred  and  thirty-two 
Indians  were  baptized.  Picquet  ertablished  a  coun- 
cil from  among  the  converts,  and  went  with  the 
most  influential  of  them  on  a  visit  to  Montreal, 
where  they  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  King 
of  France.  He  made  a  canoe  voyage  around  Lake 
Ontario  and  up  its  tributaries,  examined  the  forts, 
spoke  to  gatherings  of  savages,  and  noted  the  de- 
fects of  the  French  management  of  the  Indian  trade. 
His  success  with  the  Iroquois  was  so  great  that  the 
savages  of  that  region  were  nearly  lost  to  England, 
and  perhaps  would  have  been  entirely  so,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  influence  of  William  Johnson. 

This  man  came  from  Ireland  and  settled  in  the 
Mohawk  Valley  about  1738,  taking  charge  of  a  large 
tract  of  land  which  had  been  granted  to  his  uncle, 
Sir  Peter  Warren.  He  learned  the  language  of  the 
Mohawks,  and  became  such  a  favorite  with  them 
that  he  was  adopted  into  the  tribe  and  chosen  a 
sachem.  They  called  him  Warraghiyagey.  He 
built  two  fortified  houses,  Johnson  Hall  and  John- 
son Castle.  The  Hall  is  still  standing  in  the  village 
of  Johnstown.     The  Castle,  farther  up  the  river, 


*  ?:• 


:ii!  WW 


llvl 


19a 


rHE  OHIO   VALLEY. 


[1748. 


was  built  of  stone,  with  a  parapet  and  four  bas- 
tions. 

The  Indians  were  always  made  welcome,  and  were 
treated  by  Johnson  with  great  tact,  as  well  as  confi- 
dence and  liberality  ;  sometimes,  it  is  said,  hun- 
dreds of  them  would  lie  down  about  him  with  their 
blankets  after  a  feast,  and  go  to  sleep.  A  story  is 
told  which  illustrates  his  sagacity.  They  had  great 
respect  for  dreams  ;  when  they  saw  anything  at 
Johnson's  place  which  they  particularly  coveted, 
they  were  accustomed  to  tell  him  that  they  dreamed 
he  gave  it  to  them.  Johnson  humored  them  until 
tliat  kind  of  begging  grew  very  troublesome,  and 
then  cunningly  turned  their  faith  in  dreams  to  his 
own  account. 

"  I  dreamed  too,"  he  said  to  a  chief  who  had  just 
taken  possession  of  some  coveted  article. 

"What  did  you  dream?" 

Johnson  told  him  he  dreamed  the  tribe  gave  him 
a  large  tract  of  their  hunting-ground. 

The  chief  and  his  warriors  were  confounded. 
"You  must  have  it,"  they  said,  "  if  you  dreamed 
it ;  but  don't  dream  any  more." 

The  Governor  of  New  York  made  Johnson  Colonel 
of  the  Six  Nations,  and  in  1746  he  was  appointed 
Commissary  of  New  York  for  Indian  affairs,  and 
in  1748  the  command  of  all  the  soldiers  of  New 


«749l 


TUE  OHIO   VALLEY. 


193 


York  was  given  to  him  for  the  defence  of  the  fron- 
tier. 

Commissioners  from  the  several  Engh'sh  colonies 
met  the  chiefs  of  the  Iroquois  in  a  conference  at 
Albany.  They  agreed  that  they  would  allow  no 
Frenchmen  to  settle  on  their  lands,  and  that  the 
English  should  negotiate  with  the  French  for  the 
restoration  of  Iroquois  prisoners  ;  and  promised  to 
use  their  influence  to  bring  into  the  "covenant 
chain  "  the  tribes  dwelling  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
Those  about  Lake  Erie  and  the  Upper  Ohio  had 
been  friendly  to  the  English  during  the  last  war. 

The  Governor  of  Canada,  Count  de  la  Galisso- 
ni^re,  appointed  in  1747,  urged  on  the  French  minis- 
try the  policy  of  sending  out  competent  engineers  to 
build  forts  from  Detroit  to  the  Mississippi,  and  to 
colonize  the  country  west  of  the  Alleghanies  with 
large  bodies  of  French  peasantry.  No  movement 
was  made  toward  carrying  out  this  policy  ;  and  all 
that  Galissonidre  could  do  was  to  send  out  men  in 
1749  ^o  take  formal  possession  of  the  territory  west 
of  the  Alleghanies,  a  movement  which  more  effect- 
ually wakened  the  British  colonies  to  the  danger, 
without  securing  anything  to  the  French  which  they 
had  not  held  before.  Celoron  de  Bienville  was  put 
in  charge  of  three  hundred  men  for  the  purpose,  and 
was  directed  to  take  with  him  representatives  of  the 


M 


i  \ 


ll 


11 


!fr 


\h 


\ 


>.    i 

1,1 


194 


THE   OHIO    VALLEY. 


[1749- 


western  tribes  friendly  to  the  French,  that  they 
might  seem  to  give  their  consent  to  the  French 
claims,  and  also  be  influenced  to  drive  English  trad- 
ers out  of  the  country. 

Bienville  carried  with  him  leaden  plates  which  he 
was  to  bury  at  every  important  point  along  the  Ohio 
and  the  lake  shore,  as  far  as  Detroit.  These  plates 
were  engraved  with  the  arms  of  France  and  a  Latin 
inscription.  Following  is  a  translation  of  the  legend 
on  one  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  Mohawk  chief 
and  was  brought  to  Colonel  Johnson's  house  by  him 
for  explanation  : 

"  In  the  year  1749,  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XV,,  King  of  France, 
we,  Celoron,  commander  of  a  detachment  sent  by  Monsieur  the  Mar- 
quis de  la  Galissonifere,  commander-in-chief  of  New  France,  for  the 
rfestoration  of  tranquillity  in  some  villages  of  Indians  of  these  dis- 
tricts, have  buried  this  plate  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and  Tchad- 
akoin,  trie  2gthof  July,  near  the  river  Ohio,  otherwise  Beautiful  River, 
as  a  monument  of  the  renewal  of  possession  which  we  have  taken  of 
the  said  River  Ohio,  and  of  all  those  that  therein  fall,  and  of  all  the 
land  on  both  sides,  as  far  as  the  sources  of  said  rivers,  as  enjoyed,  or 
ought  to  be  enjoyed,  by  the  preceding  kings  of  France,  and  as  they 
therein  have  maintained  themselves  by  arms  and  by  treaties,  especially 
by  those  of  Ryswick,  of  Utrecht,  and  of  Aix-la-Chapelle." 

While  the  French  were  thus  burying  leaden 
plates,  and  decorating  forest  trees  with  the  lilies  of 
France,  and  sending  armed  men  into  the  Ohio  Val- 
ley   to   expel    English    traders    from    the    disputed 


1749] 


THE   OHIO   VALLEY. 


195 


lands,  fhe  English  colonies  were  anxiously  consider- 
ing the  feasibility  of  forming  settlements  west  of  the 
AUeghanies.  And  while  the  colonists  of  the  two 
nations  were  jealously  watching  each  other,  the  Ind- 
ians were  jealously  watching  them  all.  The  burial 
of  the  leaden  plates  roused  their  indignation  against 
the  French,  who,  they  were  sure,  were  trying  to 
steal  their  country  away  from  them.  And  they 
watched  with  equal  distrust  the  steady  progress  of 
the  settlements  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 

The  western  slopes  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
were  occupied  by  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees,  both 
of  which  nations  had  been  conquered  by  the  Iro- 
quois and  were  subject  to  those  fierce  warriors,  who 
exacted  from  them  a  tribute  and  would  not  allow 
them  to  bear  arms.  The  Delawares,  who  had  origi- 
nally lived  on  the  banks  of  the  river  which  bears 
their  name,  sold  parts  of  their  land  to  William  Penn, 
whose  treatment  of  them  was  always  humane  and 
friendly  ;  and  they  remained  on  the  lands  they  still 
retained  in  amicable  relations  with  the  settlers.  But 
as  the  colony  grew,  and  more  lands  were  needed, 
the  Delawares  were  crowded  back.  Old  title-deeds 
were  brought  forward  by  the  proprietaries,  and  new 
interpretations  put  upon  them,  making  them  cover 
great  tracts  of  land  never  intended  by  the  savages 
who  gave  them. 


i 


t    1- 


\*A 


\  (' 


•;  r 


ti 


-1\ 


196 


T//£   OHIO    VALLEY. 


[1737. 


One  of  these  was  called  "  the  walking  purchase." 
An  old  deed  executed  in  the  seventeenth  century 
was  brought  forward  in  the  eighteenth,  and  lands 
were  claimed  by  right  of  it  which  the  bewildered 
Delawares  supposed  they  had  reserved  for  them- 
selves. The  land  conveyed  was  to  be  a  triangle 
bounded  on  one  side  by  the  Delaware  River,  on 
another  side  by  one  of  its  branches  to  the  distance 
from  its  mouth  that  a  man  could  walk  in  a  day  and 
a  half,  and  on  the  third  by  a  straight  line  drawn 
from  the  point  reached  by  the  walker  back  to  the 
Delaware.  Bringing  forward  this  deed,  the  proprie- 
taries had  a  path  cut  along  the  margin  of  the  creek, 
that  there  might  be  no  obstructions  or  rough  places 
in  the  way  ;  then  they  trained  a  man  according  to 
the  most  approved  methods  for  pedestrians,  and 
when  he  had  walked  his  day  and  a  half  after  his 
training,  they  drew  the  line,  not  directly  eastward 
to  the  nearest  point  on  the  Delaware,  but  in  a  long 
slope  to  the  northeast,  forming  the  broadest  possi- 
ble angle  where  it  met  the  creek,  and  the  narrowest 
possible  where  it  met  the  river. 

The  Delawares  refused  to  obey  the  notice  to  quit, 
as  they  had  no  knowledge  of  any  title  to  the  lands 
but  thefrown,  acquired  by  ages  of  possession.  The 
Pennsylvanians  sent  for  the  Iroquois  to  enforce  their 
demand.     The  Iroquois  despatched  some  chiefs  to 


1748.] 


THE   OHIO   VALLEY. 


197 


settle  the  affair,  who  took  the  side  of  the  English, 
browbeat  the  poor  Delawares  most  unmercifully,  and 
ordered  them  to  go  either  to  Shamokin  or  Wyom- 
ing. The  Delawares,  afraid  to  disobey  their  con- 
querors, moved  to  Shamokin  and  Wyoming  on  the 
Susquehanna,  and  as  the  encroachments  of  settlers 
continued,  many  of  them  with  the  Shawnees  passed 
on  still  farther  west,  until  now  they  were  living 
about  the  headwaters  of  the  Ohio.  Remembering 
with  regret  their  home  on  the  Delaware,  and  with 
anger  their  wrongful  dispossession,  they  were  pre- 
disposed to  join  the  French  against  their  former 
friends.  • 

In  1748,  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  for  the 
purpose  of  planting  settlements  in  the  Ohio  valley. 
It  was  composed  of  gentlemen  of  the  provinces  of 
Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  some  in  England. 
Among  the  stockholders  were  Lawrence  and  Au- 
gustine Washington,  half-brothers  of  George.  The 
King  granted  the  company  five  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  land  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  south  of  the 
upper  Ohio.  It  was  designed  to  open  a  route  from 
the  settlements  on  the  company's  tract  to  the  At- 
lantic coast,  by  connecting  the  headwaters  of  the 
Monongahela  and  the  Youghiogheny  with  those  of 
the  Potomac,  by  short  roads. 

The   Company  sent  out  Christopher  Gist  to  ex- 


,  ! 


^11 


1 


IliiC 


I9S 


THE   OHIO   VALLEY. 


[1750. 


amfne  the  country  as  far  west  as  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio,  to  look  out  favorable  sites  for  settlements  and 
mark  the  passes  of  the  mountains,  the  courses  of 
the  rivers,  and  the  strength  and  disposition  of  the 
Indians.  Gist  found  most  of  them  disposed  to  be  - 
friendly  to  the  English,  but  unwilling  to  commit 
themselves  to  an  alliance  until  they  could  meet  in  a 
general  council  of  all  their  nations.  He  and  his 
men  pushed  on  to  the  west,  and  were  the  first 
explorers  of  iSouthern  Ohio.  At  Ficqua,  the  chief 
city  of  the  Miamis,  they  were  invited  to  a  council 
and  promised  the  friendship  of  the  nation.  Some 
Ottawas  came  before  the  council  broke  up,  with 
offers  of  amity  from  the  French,  but  were  sent  away 
with  the  answer  that  the  Miamis  looked  upon  the 
English  as  their  brothers  and  regarded  as  done  to 
themselves  all  the  hostile  acts  committed  by  the 
French  against  those  brothers.  Several  English 
traders  had  been  seized  by  order  of  the  Governor  of 
Canada  and  sent  to  the  French  fort  at  Otsanderket, 
or  Sandusky. 

Having  gone  as  far  as  Louisville,  Gist  returned  by 
a  more  southerly  route,  ascending  the  Kentucky. 
He  had  been  instructed  to  invite  the  Indians  to 
a  conference  at  Logstown,  about  seventeen  miles 
down  the  Ohio  from  the  site  of  Pittsburg.  In  1752 
they  came,  and   a   treaty   was   made,   the  Indians 


1752] 


THE   OHIO   VALLEY, 


199 


to 
es 

52 
ms 


agreeing  not  to  molest  settlements  on  the  lands 
granted  to  the  Ohio  Company,  but  carefully  avoid- 
ing any  acknowledgment  of  the  title  of  the  English 
to  the  territory.  The  company  built  a  station  and 
made  some  roads,  and  a  few  settlers,  among  whom  i 
was  Gist,  went  into  the  country  and  founded  a 
colony  between  the  Monongahela  and  the  Youghio- 
gheny,  beyond  Laurel  Point. 

In  the  summer  of  1752,  two  Frenchmen  led  a 
party  of  over  two  hundred  Indians  against  the  Mia- 
mis,  to  force  them  to  give  up  the  six  English  traders 
among  them  and  renounce  the  English  alliance. 
Most  of  the  warriors  were  away  on  a  hunting-expe- 
dition ;  but  the  King  refused  to  give  up  the  traders, 
and  in  the  assault  that  followed  they  were  bravely 
defended  by  the  few  who  had  remained  at  home. 
The  Miamis  were  defeated,  however,  their  captured 
King  was  killed  and  eaten,  and  the  French  flag  was 
raised  over  the  deserted  fort. 

Most  of  the  Indians  of  the  West  were  ready  to 
take  up  arms  with  the  French  ;  and  the  Miamis 
urged  the  English  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  building 
a  fort  on  the  Ohio.  But  the  colonies  could  not  or 
would  not  bear  the  expense  ;  and  England  did 
nothing,  except  to  declare  that  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio  was  a  part  of  Virginia,  and  the  encroachments 
of  the  French  were  to  be  regarded  as  acts  of  hostil- 


-^-' 


■H^ 


I' , 


■?  t 


20O 


THE  OHIO   VALLEY. 


[1753. 


ity.  A  few  guns  sent  over  from  the  ordnance  stores 
were  all  the  substantial  aid  received.  It  was  inti- 
mated that  the  militia  of  Virginia  ought  to  be  able 
to  maintain  her  rights. 

The  government  of  Canada  was  now  under  the 
Marquis  Du  Quesne,  who  determined  to  drive  the 
English  back  from  the  Ohio,  and  for  that  purpose 
prepared  a  strong  party  of  troops  to  establish  posts 
on  that  river.  Accompanied  by  a  large  force  of 
Indians  ihey  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  in  the 
spring  of  1753,  and  crossed  the  lakes  to  Presqu'  Isle, 
on  the  site  of  Erie.  A  hunting-party  of  Iroquois  on 
the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  hastened  to  send  the 
news  to  the  grand  council  at  Onondaga.  Messen- 
gers were  sent  out  to  warn  the  Miamis  and  the  other 
friends  of  the  Iroquois  in  Ohio,  and  runners  carried 
the  intelligence  to  Colonel  William  Johnson  on  the 
Mohawk  in  forty-eight  hours.  The  Ohio  tribes  sent 
envoys  to  Niagara  and  Presqu*  Isle,  warning  the 
French  not  to  invade  their  country  ;  but  the  French 
commander  threw  back  the  wampum  belts  before 
the  faces  of  the  envoys,  and  told  them  the  land  was 
his  and  he  meant  to  have  it.  He  established  and 
fortified  posts  at  Waterford,  south  of  Erie,  and  at 
Venango,  now  Franklin,  at  the  junction  of  French 
Creek  with  the  Alleghany. 

When  the   news   of    these    proceedings    reached 


imi 


I 


7F 


X753.] 


THE  OHIO   VALLEY. 


20I 


Virginia,  Robert  Dinwiddie,  the  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, determined  to  send  a  messenger  to  ask  the 
French  why  they  were  invading  the  British  domin- 
ions "while  a  soHd  peace  subsisted,"  and  for  his 
envoy  he  selected  George  Washington,  then  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  and  Adjutant-General  of  the  State 
militia.  As  a  surveyor  he  had  grown  familiar  with 
forest  life  and  learned  something  of  the  ways  of  the 
Indians.  He  started  on  his  mission  late  in  October, 
with  an  interpreter,  Christopher  Gist  as  guide,  and 
four  other  attendants.  Passing  the  junction  of  the 
Alleghany  and  Monongahela,  where  he  noted  the 
miliiary  importance  of  the  place,  he  pushed  on  to 
Logstown,  and  met  some  Delaware  and  Miami  chiefs 
in  council,  who  agreed  to  ally  themselves  with  the 
English,  if  the  French  should  still  persist  in  their 
efforts  to  occupy  the  land. 

A  part  of  the  chiefs  went  on  with  Washington  to 
Venango.  The  boasts  of  the  officers  there  intimi- 
dated some  of  the  Delawares,  but  the  Half-King, 
chief  of  the  Miamis,  gave  up  the  belt  that  symbol- 
ized his  peace  with  the  French.  Washington  was 
directed  to  proceed  to  Fort  Le  Boeuf,  at  Waterford, 
where  he  would  find  the  commanding  officer.  Toil- 
ing slowly  up  the  river  through  the  snow  and  mud, 
crossing  swollen  streams  by  bridges  which  they  made 
themselves  of  felled  trees,  the  messengers  arrived  at 


i!'. 


.1    It 


11 


202 


THE  OHIO   VALLEY. 


[1753- 


the  newly-built  fort,  surrounded  by  the  bark-roofed 
log  cabins  that  served  as  barracks  for  the  soldiers, 
who  were  busily  employed  in  making  bark  canoes 
and  pine  boats  for  the  descent  of  the  river. 

Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  the  commander,  received 
Washington  with  courtesy,  but  told  him  it  was  his 
business  to  take  possession  of  the  country,  accord- 
ing to  the  orders  of  his  superior,  and  that  he  purposed 
to  do  it  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  and  should  seize 
every  Englishman  he  found  in  the  Ohio  valley.  As 
to  the  question  of  the  rights  of  the  two  nations,  it  was 
not  his  place  to  discuss  that  ;  but  he  would  forv/ard 
the  message  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia  to  the 
Governor  of  Canada. 

Having  made  the  most  of  his  opportunities  for 
noting  the  numbers  of  the  French  and  the  strength 
and  plans  of  their  fortifications,  Washington  set  out 
with  his  men  to  return.  The  difficulties  of  the  way 
were  increased  by  the  advancing  winter.  When 
they  came  to  the  place  where  tlie  horses  were  left, 
they  found  them  so  weak  that  they  continued  their 
way  on  foot,  Washington  was  so  anxious  to  get 
back  that  he  and  Gist  left  the  circuitous  route  by  ^ 
way  of  the  streams,  and  with  a  compass  to  guide 
them  took  a  straight  course  for  the  fork  of  the 
rivers.  Washington  was  twice  in  danger  of  his 
life.     He  was  fired  upon  by  a  hidden   Indian  from 


1754] 


THE  OHIO   VALLilY. 


ao3 


'fill 


a  distance  of  not  over  fifteen  steps  and  narrowly 
missed.  The  Indian  was  taken,  and  Gist  would 
have  killed  him,  but  Washington  forbade  it,  and  re- 
leased him.  Again,  after  they  had  spent  a  day  in 
making  a  raft,  the  raft  was  caught  in  the  floating  ice. 
Washington  thrust  out  the  setting-pole  to  stop  it, 
and  was  thrown  into  the  water,  but  saved  himself 
by  grasping  one  of  the  logs  that  formed  the  raft. 

The  answer  of  St.  Pierre  led  to  prompt  action  by 
the  Virginia  authorities.  Jt  was  determined  to  build 
a  fort  at  the  head  of  the  Ohio,  and  ten  thousand 
pounds  were  voted  for  the  purpose  by  the  Assem- 
bly. Other  provinces  were  called  upon  for  aid,  but 
most  of  the  burden  fell  upon  Virginia.  A  company 
of  thirty-three  workmen,  sent  out  in  haste  to  begin 
the  fort  and  hold  the  place  before  the  French  should 
arrive,  had  scarcely  begun,  when  they  were  surprised 
by  an  army  of  six  hundred  French  and  Indians  un- 
der Contrecoeur,  and  summoned  to  surrender.  Of 
course  there  was  no  alternative  ;  they  gave  up  the 
place  and  were  allowed  to  retire.  The  date  of  the 
surrender,  April  17th,  1754,  is  usually  taken  as  the 
beginning  of  the  "  Old  French  War." 

Meanwhile  a  regiment  of  militia  was  hastily  col- 
lected at  Alexandria,  and  sent  out  under  Colonel 
Joshua  Fry,  with  Washington  second  in  command. 
Washington  went   in  advance  with  a  part  of   the 


■I? 


'   i'l 


f  , 


1 

j   t 


I 

I:' 


304 


THE  OHIO   VALLEY. 


[1754. 


force  early  in  April,  and  had  reached  Wills'  Creek, 
near  Cumberland,  when  he  was  met  by  the  returning 
party  from  the  head  of  the  Ohio.  He  sent  messen- 
gers to  the  Governors  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  and 
Pennsylvania,  asking  for  reenforcements,  and  then 
went  on  without  waiting  for  Colonel  Fry  with  the 
remainder  of  the  troops,  intending  to  intrench  him- 
self on  the  Monongahela  at  the  mouth  of  Red  Stone 
Creek  and  there  await  the  reenforcements.  He 
would  then  have  been  thirty-seven  milej  from  the 
head  of  the  Ohio. 

The  French  commander,  ContreccEur,  set  his  men 
at  work  to  finish  the  fortifications  the  English  had 
begun,  and  named  the  place  Fort  Du  Quesne,  in 
honor  of  the  Governor-General  of  Canada.  More 
men  soon  arrived,  and  St.  Pierre  sent  out  a  scout- 
ing party  under  Jumonville  to  meet  the  advance  of 
the  English.  Hearing  by  messengers  from  the  Half- 
King  that  this  party  was  lurking  in  the  vv^oods, 
Washington  stopped  at  a  place  called  the  Great 
Meadows.  During  the  night  he  advanced,  surprised 
the  JumonvUle  party,  and  completely  defeated 
them,  after  an  action  of  fifteen  minutes.  Ten  of 
the  French,  including  Jumonville,  were  killed,  and 
twenty-one,  more  than  half  of  them,  taken  prison* 
ers.  This  action,  which  took  place  April  23d,  1754, 
was  the  first  fighting  of  the  war  in  the  Ohio  valley. 


»754j 


THE  OHIO    VALLEY. 


205 


M 


Washington  had  thrown  up  a  hasty  I'ntrenchment 
at  Great  Meadows,  in  a  little  hollow  between  two 
hills  covered  with  trees,  and  after  the  fight  with 
Jumonville  he  strengthened  the  fortifications,  and 
named  the  place  Fort  Necessity.  While  waiting  for 
reinforcements,  he  employed  his  men  in  clearing  a 
road  toward  Fort  Du  Quesne  ;  but  hearing  that  a 
large  body  of  the  French  were  on  the  way  to  meet 
him,  he  fell  back  to  his  fort,  where  he  was  at- 
tacked on  the  3d  of  July.  The  attacking  party,  con- 
sisting of  six  hundred  French  soldiers  and  a  hundred 
Indians,  was  commanded  by  Villiers,  who  was  re- 
solved to  avenge  the  death  of  his  brother,  Jumon- 
ville. They  took  possession  of  one  of  the  hills,  and, 
sheltering  themselves  behind  the  trees,  fired  upon 
the  English  works  below.  Washington  had  but  four 
hundred  men,  and  a  greatly  inferior  position  ;  but 
he  and  his  men  made  a  stubborn  resistance,  fighting 
bravely  for  nine  hours.  Then  the  French  sounded 
a  parley  and  offered  terms.  The  fort  was  surren- 
dered, and  the  next  day  Washington's  men,  with 
their  arms  and  baggage,  retired  to  the  east  of  the 
Alleghanies,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  cap- 
itulation. The  Americans  lost  thirty  men  in  the 
action,  and  the  French  three.  By  this  defeat  the 
English  flag  was  banished  from  the  Ohio  valley. 
Washington   began  works  on  Wills*  Creek,  which 


'r  f\ 


206 


THE  OHIO   VALLEY. 


[»754. 


li: 


i;t 


were  afterward  completed  and  named  Fort  Cumber- 
land. 

These  hostilities  led  to  remonstrances  and  pro- 
'  tests  between  the  French  and  English  governments. 
Each  declared  a  desire  for  peace  and  reconcilia- 
tion, but  war  seemed  inevitable,  and  both  prepared 
for  it.  The  English  Government  sent  directions 
to  the  colonies  to  allow  no  encroachments  by  the 
French  ;  and  the  Governor  of  New  York  was  directed 
to  call  a  council  of  Iroquois  chiefs  and  bind  them 
to  the  English  interests  by  conciliation  and  presents. 

A  congress,  therefore,  assembled  at  Albany  on 
June  19th,  1754,  commissioners  coming  from  all  the 
colonies  as  far  south  as  Maryland.  Deputies  from 
the  Six  Nations  were  also  present.  Gifts  were 
scattered  among  them  in  great  profusion,  and  they 
renewed  their  compact  with  the  English  ;  but  still 
there  was  widespread  disaffection  among  them  tow- 
ard their  old  allies.  The  French  establishment  at 
Oswegatchie  had  drawn  off  half  the  Onondagas,  and 
the  Mohawks  were  indignant  at  what  they  considered 
trespass  on  their  lands  by  English  surveyors.  The 
chiefs  boldly  reproached  the  English  with  their  in- 
action and  the  slow  progress  of  their  preparations. 
*'  Look  at  the  French,"  said  a  Mohawk  chief ;  "  they 
are  men  ;  they  are  fortifying  everywhere  ;  it  is  but 
one  step  from  Canada  hither,  and  they  may  easily 


1754J 


THE   OHIO    VALLEY. 


907 


come  and  turn  you  out  of  doors."  The  Iroquois 
claimed  the  lands  occupied  by  the  Delawares  and 
Shawnoes,  by  right  of  their  conquest  of  those  na- 
tions. The  Delawares  and  Shawnoes  were  still  wa- 
vering, and  might  perhaps  have  been  saved  to  the 
English,  but  the  Pennsylvania  agents  took  advan- 
tage of  the  assembling  of  Iroquois  at  the  congress, 
and  induced  Ihcm  to  convey  to  themselves  large 
tracts  of  land  occupied  by  the  conquered  tribes. 
Those  Indians  heard  of  the. transfer  with  great  in- 
dignation, and  were  easily  won  over  to  the  French. 

The  council  at  Albany  was  memorable  from  the 
*"act  that  it  projected  a  confederacy  of  the  Ameri- 
can colonies.  Benjamin  Franklin,  a  delegate  from 
Pennsylvania,  had  made  notes  for  a  plan  of  union 
while  on  his  journey  to  Albany,  and  when  he  arrived 
there  he  found  that  some  of  the  other  commission- 
ers had  also  thought  out  plans  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. Franklin's  plan  was  substantially  adopted, 
after  much  deliberation.  Philadelphia  was  to  be  the 
seat  of  government.  The  President,  or  Governor- 
General,  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  King,  and  was 
to  have  a  veto  power  on  all  measures  of  the  Grand 
Council.  The  Council  was  to  be  elected  once  in 
three  years  by  the  legislatures  of  the  colonies,  and 
to  meet  every  year.  The  number  of  delegates  from 
each  colony  was  to  vary  from  two  to  seven.  General 


!* 


i        \ 


Pi 


\  > 


1  ■ 


[l 


t 


1- 


f  1  ife'i 


2C8 


THE   OHIO    VALLEY. 


[1754- 


!  ! 


matters  of  war,  trade,  and  taxes  were  to  be  under 
the  control  of  the  Council.  The  plan  was  favored 
neither  by  the  colonies,  who  thought  it  gave  too 
much  power  to  the  President  appointed  by  the 
Crown,  nor  by  the  Board  of  Trade  in  England,  who 
rejected  it  on  account  of  the  power  it  gave  to  the 
people  of  the  colonies  ;  but  it  foreshadowed  the 
union  of  ^ne  Americans,  which  resulted  in  their 
independence  less  than  thirty  years  later. 


W 


CHAPTER  XII. 
braddock's  defeat. 


Plan  of  the  English  Ministry  for  Operations  in  America — Capture  of 
Ships  by  Boscawen  —  Braddock's  March  —  His  Defeat  —  His 
Death  —  Effect  of  the  Defeat  —  Washington  —  Alliances  with  the 
Indians. 

The  English  ministry  now  resolved  upon  a  plan 
for  attacking  the  French  by  four  expeditions  at 
about  the  same  time,  hoping  to  defeat  them  at  every 
point  where  they  had  encroached  on  English  claims, 
and  drive  them  finally  and  forever  from  the  dis- 
puted territory.  The  four  expeditions  were  to  move 
against  the  French  in  Acadia,  at  Fort  Niagara,  at 
Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  at  Crown  Point.  The  result 
of  the  operations  in  Acadia  has  already  been  de- 
tailed. The  expedition  assigned  to  the  attack  of 
Fort  Niagara  never  reached  its  destination.  That 
against  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  most  actively  carried 
out,  and  most  influential  in  its  results. 

While  these  preparations  were  going  on,  England 
and  France  were  nominally  at  peace.  Both  were 
sending  troops  to  America,  but  both  professed  to 
be  taking  nieasures  for  defence  only.     In  January, 


m 

fi  1' 


210 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


[1755. 


1755,  negotiations  passed  between  the  two  countries 
on  the  subject  of  the  boundaries.  France  proposed 
that  the  Ohio  valley  be  left  as  it  was  before  the  last 
war  ;  England  proposed  that  it  be  left  as  it  was  at 
the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  in  171 3.  Then  France  pro- 
posed that  the  territory  between  the  Ohio  and  the 
Alleghanies  be  left  neutral,  by  which  she  would 
then  have  had  all  north  of  the  Ohio  and  far  on  to 
the  west,  while  the  neutral  country  would  have  kept 
back  the  English  settlers.  England  then  demanded 
that  twenty  leagues  on  each  side  of  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  should  be  added  to  the  territory  conceded 
by  the  French  as  belonging  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  the 
country  northward  to  the  St.  Lawrence  be  left 
neutral  ;  that  the  French  forts  at  Crown  Point  and 
Niagara,  and  all  those  between  the  Alleghanies  and 
the  Wabash,  should  be  destroyed.  Of  course,  the 
French  would  make  no  such  concessions  ;  but  some 
show  of  negotiations  was  still  kept  up,  while  the 
warlike  movements  went  on. 

Six  thousand  men  had  been  sent  out  from  Eng- 
land for  service  in  America.  They  were  under 
General  Edward  Braddock,  who  was  made  com- 
mander-in-chief of  all  the  forces  in  North  America, 
Governor  Shirley  and  Sir  William  Pepperell  to  be 
associated  with  him  as  next  in  command.  Braddock 
had  been  in  service  on  the  Continent,  and  his  mill- 


m 


ill 


1755.] 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


211 


tary  record  was  good.  About  three  months  after 
he  sailed,  a  force  of  three  thousand  men  was  de- 
^spatched  from  France  to  Canada,  under  Baron 
Dieskau. 

Admiral  Boscawen  was  sent  to  the  Banks  of  New. 
foundland  to  intercept  the  French  squadron.  Three 
of  the  French  ships,  the  Lys,  the  Alcide,  and  the 
Dauphin,  were  separated  from  the  rest  and  enveloped 
in  the  fogs  of  the  Newfoundland  coast,  and  when 
the  fogs  cleared  away,  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of 
June,  they  found  the  English  fleet  close  upon  them. 
"  Are  we  at  peace  or  war?"  asked  the  commander 
of  the  Alcide.  In  reply  Boscawen  commanded  his 
men  to  fire,  and  after  a  short  engagement  the  Lys 
and  the  Alcide  struck  their  colors.  The  Dauphin 
escaped  to  the  harbor  of  Louisbourg.  This  affair 
naturally  excited  great  indignation  in  France,  and 
the  French  ambassador  at  the  English  court  was 
withdrawn.  In  England  it  was  not  disapproved  of, 
although  it  had  been  steadily  asserted  that  only 
defensive  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  English 
frontiers  were  to  be  taken. 

Braddock  arrived  at  Hampton  Roads  in  February, 
1755.  In  April  he  called  a  conference  of  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  provinces  to  meet  him  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  a  common  fund  for  carrying  on  the  war  ; 
but  they  were   unable   to  pledge  the   support   de- 


212 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


[1755. 


manded  of  them.  Virginia,  whose  frontiers  were  in 
the  greatest  danger,  was  most  zealous  in  rendering 
assistance,  and  later  Franklin  used  his  influence  in 
Pennsylvania  to  supply  the  pressing  want  of  horses 
and  wagons.  Colonel  William  Johnson,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Braddock,  was  asked  to  treat  with  the 
Six  Nations  and  take  charge  of  the  expedition 
against  Crown  Point.  The  governors  agreed  to  raise 
eight  hundred  pounds  for  presents  to  the  Iroquois, 
and  Johnson  consented  to  negotiate  the  treaty, 
though  reluctantly,  on  account  of  the  carelessness 
the  English  had  previously  shown  in  regard  to  the 
observance  of  their  agreements  with  the  Indians. 

Braddock  was  full  of  confidence  as  to  the  result 
of  his  enterprise.  He  had  great  faith  in  himself,  in 
"  the  King's  regular  troops,"  and  in  the  tactics  of 
war  as  he  had  learned  them,  great  contempt  for  the 
provincials  who  were  to  serve  in  his  army,  and  not 
the  slightest  suspicion  that  men  who  had  spent  their 
lives  among  the  Indians  could  tell  him  anything  of 
value  about  savage  methods  of  warfare.  He  sent  de- 
spatches to  the  English  ministry,  promisiiig  speedy 
success.  To  Franklin  he  said,  "  I  shall  hardly 
need  to  stop  more  than  three  or  four  days  at  Fort 
Du  Quesne  ;  then  I  shall  march  on  to  Niagara,  and 
from  there  to  Frontenac." 

"To  be  sure,  sir,"  answered  Franklin,  **  if  you 


1755] 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


213 


arrive  well  before  Du  Quesne  with  those  fine  troops, 
so  well  provided  with  artillery,  that  place,  not  com- 
pletely fortified,  and,  as  we  hear,  with  no  very 
*  strong  garrison,  can  probably  make  but  a  short  re- 
sistance. The  only  danger  I  apprehend  of  obstruc- 
tion to  your  march  is  from  ambuscades  of  Indians, 
who,  by  constant  practice,  are  dexterous  in  laying 
and  executing  them  ;  and  the  slender  line,  near  four 
miles  long,  which  your  army  must  make,  may  ex- 
pose it  to  be  attacked  by  surprise  in  its  flanks,  and 
to  be  cut  like  a  thread  into  several  pieces,  which, 
from  their  distance,  cannot  come  up  in  time  to  sup- 
port each  other." 

Franklin  says  Braddock  smiled  at  his  ignorance, 
and  answered,  **  These  savages  may,  indeed,  be  a 
formidable  enemy  to  your  raw  American  militia ; 
but  upon  the  King's  regular  and  disciplined  troops, 
sir,  it  is  impossible  they  should  make  any  impres- 
sion." He  paid  no  attention  to  Washington's  ad- 
vice that  he  should  secure  the  aid  of  one  hundred 
Indians  under  the  interpreter  Croghan,  and  treated 
them  so  scornfully  that  they  withdrew  in  anger. 

The  troops  were  all  gathered  at  Fort  Cumberland, 
on  Wills*  Creek.  Braddock  spent  some  weeks  there 
in  preparations,  disciplining  the  provincial  troops  to 
make  them  as  much  like  regulars  as  possible,  and 
disgusted  with  his  slender  success.     "  The  American 


\  \K   \v 


u 


\  'I 


214 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT, 


[1755 


troops,"  he  wrote  in  one  of  his  letters,  "  have  little 
courage  or  goodwill.  I  expect  almost  no  military 
service  from  them,  though  I  have  employed  the  best 
officers  to  drill  them." 

The  wagons  and  horses  procured  by  Franklin  at  ' 
last  arrived,  and  on  the  7th  of  June  the  army  was 
ready  to  march.  There  were  one  thousand  of  Brad- 
dock's  regular  soldiers,  twelve  hundred  of  the  pro- 
vincial militia,  a  few  sailors,  and  a  few  Indians. 
Washington  was  made  an  aide-de-camp.  Two  com- 
panies from  New  York  were  under  the  command  of 
Horatio  Gates,  afterward  famous  as  the  American 
commander  at  Saratoga  ;  one  of  the  wagons  was 
owned  and  driven  by  Daniel  Morgan,  destined  to 
render  important  service  in  South  Carolina  during 
the  Revolutionary  War  ;  and  there  was  Hugh  Mer- 
cer, who  was  to  fall  at  Princeton.  Side  by  side 
with  these  future  leaders  of  the  American  rebels 
was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Thomas  Gage,  the  future 
commander  of  the  King's  forces  in  their  struggle 
with  his  rebellious  subjects. 

Many  of  the  French  troops  had  been  sent  away 
from  Fort  Du  Quesne  ;  but  on  the  news  of  the 
English  expedition  reenforcements  were  summoned, 
and  the  slowness  of  Braddock's  march  gave  them 
ample  time  to  reach  the  fort.  The  route  through 
Pennsylvania  would  have  been   much  shorter  than 


\y  I 


1755-] 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


215 


I 


■'   \ 


that  through  Virginia.  But  the  former  expedition 
of  Washington  had  taken  the  route  by  way  of  Wills' 
Creek,  and  the  shorter  route  seems  scarcely  to  have 
been  considered.  Five  hundred  men  had  been  sent 
forward  the  last  day  of  May  to  open  the  road,  and 
carry  stores  to  Little  Meadows.  The  rest  of  the 
army  moved  slowly,  making  only  five  miles  in  three 
days. 

Washington  looked  on  with  impatience,  while 
Braddock  insisted  on  moving  exactly  in  accordance 
with  the  methods  practised  in  European  warfare. 
"  We  halted,"  he  says,  "  to  level  every  mole-hill 
and  bridge  every  brook,  by  which  means  we  were 
four  days  in  getting  twelve  miles."  Even  after  the 
road  had  been  widened  by  the  advancing  axe-men, 
it  was  almost  impossible  for  the  horses  to  drag  the 
heavy  wagons  loaded  with  useless  baggage  through 
the  miry  ravines  and  over  the  rocks  and  stumps  of 
trees,  and  they  grew  weak  with  the  fatigue  and  the 
insufficient  food  afforded  by  the  wild  grass.  After 
crossing  the  Great  Savage  Mountain,  and  toiling 
painfully  through  the  thick  gloom  of  the  Shades  of 
Death,  the  army  reached  Little  Meadows,  where 
some  attempt  at  fortification  had  been  made  by  the 
five  hundred  axe-men. 

Here  a  council  of  war  was  held,  and  Washington's 
suggestion  was  adopted,  that  twelve  hundred  men 


■i^ 


1  %  m 


1,1.  ■ 
■it 

*-  .\ 
%  >1 


2l6 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


[1755. 


should  be  selected  to  push  on  in  advance  with  the 
artillery  and  the  lighter  baggage.  Braddock  went 
on  with  the  twelve  hundred,  leaving  the  remainder, 
with  the  heavy  wagons,  in  charge  of  Colonel  Dunbar. 
Even  then  the  progress  of  the  advance  party  was 
very  slow,  and  it  was  not  until  the  8th  of  July  that 
they  arrived  at  the  fork  of  the  Monongahela  and 
Youghiogeny  rivers,  twelve  miles  from  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  where  they  encamped  on  a  stream  known 
as  Crooked  Run.  Braddock  had  at  first  refused  to 
send  forward  any  Indians  as  scouts  ;  now  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  that  he  could  induce  any  of  the  few 
remaining  with  him  to  undertake  the  perilous  task. 
Their  march  was  haunted  by  the  skulking  allies  of 
the  French,  who  "^  picked  off  stragglers  and  faith- 
fully reported  every  movement  of  the  British  army 
at  Fort  Du  Quesne. 

Braddock's  men  were  now  on  the  same  side  of  the 
Monongahela  as  the  fort — that  is,  on  the  eastern 
side  ;  but  a  high  rocky  ridge  very  near  the  river  on 
that  side  left  such  a  narrow  defile  beside  the  stream, 
that  the  General  thought  best  to  cross  at  a  ford 
near  his  camp,  and,  reaching  a  point  above  the  nar- 
row defile,  to  recross  at  a  second  ford  at  the  mouth 
of  Turtle  Creek,  eight  miles  below  the  fort.  Early 
on  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  July,  the  army  crossed 
the  upper  ford,  and  marched  splendidly  down  the 


fl 


:755] 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT, 


211 


river  in  their  scarlet  uniform,  with  drums  beating 
and  colors  flying,  the  finest  spectacle,  Washington 
said  long  years  afterward,  that  he  had  ever  wit- 
nessed. 

At  noon  they  recrossed  the  river,  and  entered  a 
woody  and  hilly  country  cut  through  by  three  deep 
ravines,  with  seven  miles  yet  to  march.  Gage  led 
on  a  detachment  through  the  narrow  path,  attended 
by  the  engineers  with  the  workmen. 

Indian  scouts  had  carried  swift  inteUigence  of 
the  English  advance  to  Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  Con- 
trecceur,  thinking  it  would  be  impossible  to  hold 
out  against  such  an  a  ay,  talked  of  retreat.  But 
one  of  his  captains,  Beaujeu,  advised  sending  out  a 
party  of  soldiers  and  Indians  to  form  an  ambuscade. 
Contrecoeur  consented,  and  the  Indians  w^re  called 
together  from  their  bark  huts  around  the  fort. 

Not  one  was  willing  to  follow  Beaujeu  in  the  dan- 
gerous undertaking,  and  he  gave  it  up  for  the  time. 
Another  invitation  met  with  an  answer  no  more  fa- 
vorable ;  but  the  third  time,  when  he  said,  "  I  am 
determined  to  go  ;  and  will  you  let  your  father  go 
alone  ?  "  a  sudden  enthusiasm  seized  them,  and  they 
were  ready  to  follow. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th,  Beaujeu,  Dumas,  and 
Lignery  led  out  more  than  eight  hundred  men,  of 
Avhom  six  hundred  were  Indians.     Among  the  Ind- 


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BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


[»755. 


ians  was  the  chief  Pontiac,  afterward  well  known 
in  American  history.  The  Engh'sh  army  was  mov- 
ing on  without  a  single  scout  to  give  warning  of  the 
danger,  when  it  was  suddenly  confronted  by  the 
fantastic  figure  of  Beaujeu  in  a  fringed  hunting- dress 
and  wearing  on  his  neck  a  silver  gorget,  closely  fol- 
lowed down  the  hill  by  a  multitude  of  white  men 
and  savages.  Beaujeu  gave  the  word  of  command, 
and  the  Indians  dropped  into  the  ravines  and  joined 
the  French  on  the  hill  in  a  murderous  fire  on  the 
British  regulars,  who,  though  bewildered  by  the 
hideous  yells  and  shrieks  that  arose  from  the  ra- 
vines, returned  the  fire,  and  Beaujeu  was  one  of  the 
first  to  fall  dead.  His  loss  dismayed  the  Indians, 
and  they  began  to  fly,  but  were  rallied  by  Dumas, 
who  sent  them  to  attack  the  flanks  of  the  English 
army,  while  the  French  soldiers  kept  up  the  fire  in 
front.  Hiding  behind  the  trees,  the  Indians  picked 
off  the  Englishmen  with  unerring  aim.  A  reen- 
forcement  was  sent  on  by  Braddock  ;  but  the  ad- 
vance party  was  driven  back,  leaving  two  of  their 
pieces  to  the  enemy,  and  meeting  the  reenforce- 
ments  which  were  attempting  to  form,  they  became 
mingled  and  confused  with  them,  and  the  entire 
force  was  thrown  into  disorder  and  unable  to  effect 
anything. 

Braddock  pushed  bravely  forward,  and  rode  hither 


1755] 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT, 


219 


and  thither,  issuing  commands,  and  trying  to  in- 
spire his  troops  with  his  own  courage.  Four  horses 
were  shot  under  him,  but  again  he  mounted  and 
again  renewed  his  efforts.  His  officers  were  not 
outdone  in  bravery.  Washington  had  two  horses 
shot  under  him  and  his  clothing  torn  by  bullets  ; 
Gates  was  shot  through  the  body  ;  and  only  twen- 
ty three  of  the  eighty-six  officers  escaped  unhurt. 
Twenty-six  were  killed  and  thirty-seven  wounded. 
But  the  English  troops  were  panic-stricken  ;  they 
would  not  follow  their  officers  ;  they  loaded  their 
muskets  and  fired  upon  their  own  comrades,  or  into 
the  empty  air.  The  provincials,  understanding  bet- 
ter the  methods  of  the  Indians,  maintained  their 
self-control,  and,  stationing  themselves  behind  trees, 
returned  the  fire  in  the  Indian  method  from  the 
cover.  Washington  urged  Braddock  to  order  all 
the  men  to  fight  in  that  way;  but  still  the  General 
could  not  see  that  there  was  any  occasion  for  setting 
aside  the  rules  of  regular  warfare.  He  drove  the 
men  out  from  their  hiding-places,  and  insisted  that 
they  should  form  in  platoons.  At  length  he  fell, 
mortally  wounded,  but  continued  to  give  orders  as 
he  lay  bleeding  on  the  ground. 

After  three  hours  of  such  fighting,  during  which 
half  the  men  were  killed  or  wounded,  the  soldiers,  in 
an  uncontrollable  panic,  rushed  back  from  the  field 


320 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


[I755. 


and  fled  in  confusion  across  the  river,  throwing 
away  their  arms.  Bradduck  was  carried  from  the 
field  by  some  provincials.  The  enemy  did  not  fol- 
low across  the  river,  but  returned  to  the  field  to 
secure  the  plunder.  Braddock's  orders  brought  his 
men  to  a  stand,  but  they  were  too  frightened  to 
maintain  it,  and  broke  once  more  into  a  straggling 
retreat,  and  on  the  nth  reached  the  reserves  at  the 
camp.  The  panic  spread  to  Dunbar's  men  ;  all  the 
stores  at  the  camp  were  destroyed,  and  the  whole 
army  fled  helpless  through  the  woods,  and  past  the 
settlements  toward  Philadelphia. 

Braddock  lay  in  a  lethargy,  rousing  himself  at 
times  to  give  commands,  and  once  murmuring, 
**  Who  would  h-ve  thought  it?  Who  would  have 
thought  it?"  S  ortly  before  he  died,  on  the  night 
of  the  13th,  he  turned  to  his  lieutenant  and  said, 
"  We  shall  better  know  how  to  deal  with  them 
another  time."  The  soldiers  made  his  grave  at 
Great  Meadows,  near  Fort  Necessity,  where  it  still 
may  be  seen.  The  lower  ford,  where  his  army 
crossed  to  the  fatal  field,  is  known  as  Braddock's 
Ford. 

The  news  of  this  defeat  carried  dismay  through 
the  provinces.  It  left  the  frontier  settlements  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  open  and  unprotected 
from  the  Indians  ;  and  every  unusual  noise,  even  the 


1755] 


BRADDOCK'S  DEhEAT. 


221 


maudlin  howl  of  a  drunken  man  in  the  streets,  was 
thought  by  the  terrified  inhabitants  to  be  the  deadly 
yell  that  heralded  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping- 
knife.  In  August,  Washington  was  appointed  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  all  the  forces  of  the  colony. 
His  conduct  during  Braddock's  expedition  had 
brought  him  to  the  favorable  notice  of  the  country, 
and  attracted  attention  in  England.  He  had,  it  is 
said,  been  marked  by  an  Indian  chief,  who  persist- 
ently aimed  at  him,  and  told  some  of  his  warriors 
to  do  the  same.  Failing  to  bring  him  down,  they 
concluded  that  some  powerful  manitou  was  watching 
over  his  life. 

"  I  point  out  that  heroic  youth.  Colonel  Wash- 
ington," said  a  clergyman,  Rev.  Samuel  Davis,  in 
a  sermon,  "whom  I  cannot  but  hope  Providence 
has  preserved  in  so  signal  a  manner  for  some  im- 
portant service  to  his  country."  And  Lord  Hali- 
fax said,  "  Who  is  Mi.  Washington  ?  I  know  noth- 
ing of  him  but  that  they  say  he  behaved  in  Brad- 
dock's  action  as  if  h®  really  loved  the  whistling  of 
bullets." 

One  of  the  most  disastrous  results  of  t^  .  defeat 
was  its  effect  upon  the  Indians.  It  in  .red  them 
with  contempt  for  the  English  soldie»-^  and  respect 
for  the  military  ability  of  the  French.  It  decided 
the  defection  of  the  Delawares  and  Shawnoes,  and 


rr 


ii 


223 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


[1755- 


incited  them  to  petty  ravages  on  the  border. 
Scarooyadi,  successor  to  the  Half-King,  refused  to 
listen  to  French  persuasions,  and  remained  true  to 
the  English.  He  said  the  defeat  was  due  to  the 
"pride  and  ignorance  of  that  great  general  that 
came  from  England.  He  is  now  dead  ;  but  he  was 
a  bad  man  when  he  was  alive.  He  looked  upon  us 
as  dogs,  and  would  never  hear  anything  that  was 
said  to  him.  We  often  endeavored  to  advise  him, 
and  tell  him  of  the  danger  he  was  in  with  his  sol- 
diers ;  but  he  never  appeared  pleased  with  us,  and 
that  was  the  reason  that  a  great  many  of  our  war- 
riors left  him." 

Washington  was  anxious  to  secure  the  aid  of  the 
Indians  ;  and  Scarooyadi  was  willing  to  go  out  at 
once.  "  Let  us  unite  our  strength,"  said  he.  "  You 
are  numerous,  and  the  governors  along  the  seashore 
can  raise  men  enough  ;  but  don't  let  those  from 
over  the  seas  be  concerned  any  more.  They  are 
unfit  to  fight  in  the  woods.  Let  us  go  out  our- 
selves, we  that  came  out  of  this  ground." 

The  Cherokees  were  also  faithful  to  their  friend- 
ship with  the  English  colonies.  Their  chief  pro- 
posed a  conference  with  the  Governor  of  South 
Carolina,  notifying  him  of  the  attempts  of  the 
French  and  their  allies  to  win  over  his  nation.  The 
Governor  met  the  principal  Cherokee   warriors  in 


1755-] 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


223 


their  own  country,  two  hundred  miles  from  Charles- 
ton ;  the  alliance  was  renewed,  and  a  large  tract 
of  land  was  ceded  by  the  Cherokees  to  the  colo- 
ny. Fort  Prince  George,  three  hundred  miles  from 
Charleston,  was  built  on  the  ceded  lands. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


BATTLE  OF  LAKE  GEORGE. 


Expeditions  under  Shirley  and  Johnson — Shirley  at  Oswego — Move- 
ments of  Dieskau — Building  of  Fort  Edward — Advance  of  Dieskau 
— First  Engagement — Fight  at  the  Camp — Fight  with  Macginnis — 
Reward  of  Johnson — Erection  of  Fort  William  Henry— Fortifica- 
tion of  Ticonderoga — Hostilities  on  the  Ocean — Plans  for  the  En- 
suing Year. 

The  third  expedition  designed  to  establish  the 
supremacy  of  England  in  the  American  territory 
which  she  claimed  as  her  own,  was  to  advance  under 
Governor  Shirley  to  attack  Fort  Niagara  ;  and  the 
fourth  under  Johnson  to  Fort  Frederick  at  Crown 
Point.  These  two  expeditions  were  to  be  com- 
posed of  troops  supplied  by  the  northern  colonies, 
and  warriors  of  the  Six  Nations.  In  June  nearly 
six  thousand  men  were  gathered  at  Albany.  Among 
them  were  Israel  Putnam,  of  Connecticut,  who  was 
to  have  so  large  a  share  in  the  deeds  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  ;  John  Stark,  of  New  Hampshire,  des- 
tined to  make  himself  famous  at  Bennington  and 
Saratoga  ;  and  Ephraim  Williams,  of  Massachusetts, 
who  had  just  made  a  will  at   Albany  by  which  he 


1755.] 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE. 


Zt<t 


left  a  bequest  to  found  the  free  school  that  is  now 
Williams  College. 

After  capturing  Fort  Du  Quesne,  Braddock  was 
to  march  northward  and  meet  Shirley  at  Niagara. 
The  fort  there  was  in  poor  condition  ;  and  Vau- 
dreuil,  Governor  of  Canada,  was  anxious  for  its 
safety,  having  heard  from  Indians  of  the  prepara- 
tions that  were  being  made  by  the  English.  "  The 
preservation  of  Niagara,"  he  wrote  to  the  French 
minister,  "  is  what  interests  us  the  most  ;  if  our 
enemies  should  become  masters  of  it  and  keep 
Chouaguen  (Oswego),  the  Upper  Countries  would 
be  lost  to  us,  and  besides  we  should  have  no  more 
communication  with  the  River  Ohio." 

But  there  was  no  immediate  danger  of  the  Eng- 
lish becoming  masters  of  Niagara  ;  the  news  of  Brad- 
dock's  defeat  was  received  before  the  last  of  Shir- 
ley's men  had  started  up  the  Mohawk.  They  were 
to  ascend  the  river  in  bateaux,  and  the  bateaux 
were  to  be  managed  by  forest-rangers  who  had  been 
gathered  for  the  expedition.  The  news  of  the  de- 
feat so  frightened  them  that  many  deserted  ;  and 
v/hen  the  army  arrived  at  the  carrying-place,  at  the 
head  of  the  Mjohawk,  the  men  who  were  to  trans- 
port the  military  stores  by  sledges  also  failed  them. 
The  soldiers  were  disheartened,  Shirley  was  slow 
and  irresolute,  and  they  did  not  reach  Oswego  till 


1 

1 

''■'A 

1 

i 

iri 

;;  ;  ■ 

.  ■      H' 

'  ■   .?. 

"  ,' 

1 

l}^g 

1   <     '  --MJ9 

'H 

I'-vK 

'■'■  Wa. 

^'Pl 

;    'H 

|i^ 

I  i 


11! 


IF 


236 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE. 


[1755. 


the  2 1st  of  August.  A  month  was  passed  in  build- 
ing boats  to  take  them  across  Lake  Ontario  ;  and 
just  as  they  were  ready  to  embark,  on  the  i8th  of 
September,  heavy  rains  and  winds  set  in,  and  con- 
tinued with  little  intermission  for  three  weeks. 
Most  of  the  Indians  and  some  of  the  soldiers  de- 
serted, and  sickness  disabled  many  more.  It  was 
therefore  decided  that  the  attempt  should  be  aban- 
doned until  the  following  year,  that  Colonel  Mercer 
should  be  left  at  Oswego  with  seven  hundred  men- 
and  Governor  Shirley  should  return  to  Albany  with 
the  rest. 

The  French  had  designed  to  send  their  army  under 
Baron  Dieskau  to  take  Oswego,  expecting  there- 
by to  gain  uninterrupted  communication  between 
their  own  forts,  Frontenac  and  Niagara,  at  either 
end  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  weaken  the  English  in- 
fluence over  the  Iroquois  ;  and  General  Braddock's 
papers,  which  were  captured,  revealed  the  English 
plan  of  the  campaign.  Dieskau  was  about  to  start 
for  Oswego  with  his  army  when  information  reached 
Montreal  that  Johnson's  army  was  on  its  way  toward 
Crown  Point.  Vaudreuil  decided  that  it  was  of  more  ^ 
importance  to  send  the  aid  there  -than  to  attack 
Oswego  ;  and  Dieskau  reluctantly  consented  to  the 
change  of  plan.  The  French  fo-ce  assembled  at 
Crown    Point    consisted    of   seven  hundred  regular 


5    f 


1755.] 


BATTLE  OF  LAKE  GEORGE. 


337 


troops,  sixteen  hundred  Canadians,  and  seven  hun- 
dred Indians,  about  half  of  the  Indians  being  con- 
verted Iroquois  from  the  mission  villages  of  Canada. 

The  troops  at  Albany  designed  for  Johnson's  force 
were  sent  on  early  in  July,  under  General  Phinehas 
Lyman,  and  were  occupied  in  building  a  fort  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Hudson  at  the  beginning  of  the 
portage  to  Lake  George,  which  was  named  Fort 
Edward.  On  the  8th  of  August,  Johnson  set  out 
from  Albany  with  the  artillery,  bateaux,  and  pro- 
visions. He  passed  Fort  Edward  and  encamped  on 
the  southern  shore  of  Lake  St.  Sacrament,  which  he 
soon  afterward  named  Lake  George,  in  honor  of 
George  II.  The  camp  was  surrounded  by  woods 
and  swamps  on  all  sides  except  that  which  faced  the 
lake. 

It  was  Johnson's  intention  to  build  a  fort  at  this 
point,  and  when  his  bateaux  should  arrive,  to  go 
up  Lake  Champlain  to  Ticonderoga,  fortify  that 
place,  and  then  march  against  Fort  Frederick. 
Ticonderoga  is  a  point  projecting  into  the  lake,  fif- 
teen miles  above  Crown  Point.  But  no  fort  was 
built,  nor  defences  of  any  kind.  The  Indians  came 
in  slowly.  The  old  Mohawk  chief,  Hendrick,  told 
Johnson  that  Shirley  had  discouraged  the  warriors 
from  enlisting  under  Johnson,  between  whom  and 
himself  there  was  a   feeling   of  jealousy,   and  had 


228 


£A  TTLE  OF  LAKE  GEORGE. 


[1755. 


tried  to  induce  them  to  go  with  him  to  Oswego. 
But  in  time  a  large  number  of  them  regained  their 
confidence  in  Johnson,  and  joined  him  in  his  camp. 
While  the  thirty-four  hundred  men  were  wasting 
their  time  in  Johnson's  camp,  Dieskau's  men  were 
making  active  preparations  at  Crown  Point  for  the 
expected  attack. 

After  waiting  some  time,  Dieskau  resolved  to  ad- 
vance toward  the  English  army,  hoping  to  conquer 
it  and  leave  the  way  open  to  Albany  and  Schenec- 
tady ;  he  could  then  march  on  those  places  and  cut 
off  communication  with  Oswego,  after  which  the 
capture  of  that  place  would  be  easy.  Taking  with 
him  fifteen  hundred  men,  six  hundred  of  whom 
were  Indians,  and  two  hundred  regulars,,  lie  went  up 
the  lake  in  boats,  and  landed  at  South  ^zy^  on  the 
present  site  of  Whitehall.  The  army  marched  for 
three  days,  intending  to  attack  Fort  Edward. 
Halting  on  the  road  to  Lake  George,  which  had  been 
taken  by  mistake  instead  of  the  one  leading  directly 
to  Fort  Edward,  Dieskau  sent  a  party  of  Indians  to 
reconnoitre,  who  returned  with  the  intelligence  that 
their  approach  was  known  both  at  the  fort  and  at 
the  camp.  The  Indians,  with  their  usual  fear  of 
cannon,  were  averse  to  attacking  the  fort,  but  were 
willing  to  advance  against  the  camp.  Dieskau  as- 
sented, and  marched  toward  Lake  George. 


;!       i 


1755] 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE, 


329 


When  it  was  known  in  Johnson's  camp  that  the 
French  were  approaching,  warning  was  sent  to  Fort 
Edward.  One  of  the  messengers,  a  wagoner  named 
Adams,  was  taken  by  the  Indians  and  killed  ;  the  ^ 
other  returned  with  the  intelligence  that  the  enemy 
were  about  four  miles  north  of  the  fort.  A  coun- 
cil of  war  was  held  the  next  morning,  the  7th  of 
September,  and  it  was  decided  to  send  out  a 
thousand  troops  and  two  hundred  Indian?  to  meet 
the  enemy.  Hendrick  was  the  only  one  who  saw 
the  folly  of  the  movement.  "  If  they  are  to  be 
killed,"  he  said,  "  they  are  too  many  ;  if  they  are  to 
fight,  they  are  too  few."  But  Hendrick  was  over- 
ruled, and  putting  himself  at  the  head  of  his 
Mohawks,  he  rode  out  to  the  fray  at  sunrise  the 
next  morning,  the  only  mounted  man  of  the  party, 
unable,  from  his  age  and  weight,  to  go  on  foot. 
The  detachment  was  headed  by  Colonel  Ephraim 
Williams. 

As  soon  as  Dieskau  learned  of  their  approach 
he  prepared  an  ambuscade,  arranging  his  men  in  a 
line  which  crossed  the  road  and  curved  toward  the 
advancing  English  on  both  sides  of  it.  The  French  ^ 
troops  were  therefore  disposed  in  the  form  of  a 
horse-shoe,  those  at  one  end  being  hidden  by  a  ridge 
covered  with  trees  and  bushes,  and  those  at  the 
other  crouching  in  a  swampy  spot  also  concealed 


;.   i  W' 


:  i  I;  1 


!.if    ! 


1  j 


I 


230 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE    GEORGE. 


[1755. 


from  the  road  by  a  thick  undergrowth.  When  the 
English  should  have  marched  forward  to  where  the 
French  line  crossed  the  road,  Dieskau's  men  could 
close  in  on  both  sides  and  surround  them. 

As  they  entered  the  trap,  Hendrick  was  riding  in 
advance.  He  had  gone  some  distance  within  the 
enclosing  lines,  but  a  part  of  the  division  was  still 
without,  when  an  Indian  suddenly  appeared  close 
to  him  and  said,  "Whence  came  you?"  "From 
the  Mohawks,"  answered  Hendrick.  "Whence 
came  you  ?  "  "  From  Montreal, ' '  was  the  reply,  and 
immediately  a  shot  was  fired,  contrary  to  the  orders 
of  Dieskau,  who  had  directed  his  men  to  be  quiet 
until  the  English  were  completely  within  the  French 
line.  The  shot  was  the  signal  for  a  general  assault, 
and  the  firing  began  on  both  sides  and  in  front  of 
the  astonished  troops.  One  moment  they  had  been 
riding  through  a  silent  wilderness  ;  the  next  they 
were  surrounded  by  blazing  muskets  and  whoop- 
ing savages.  Hendrick  was  one  of  the  first  who 
fell,  Williams  and  many  other  ofificers  shared  his 
fate,  and  the  command  devolved  upon  Lieutenant 
Nathan  Whiting. 

The  English  gave  way  and  retreated,  fighting  as 
they  went,  many  of  them  spreading  themselves  out 
so  as  to  oppose  a  wide  front  to  the  enemy,  and  dart- 
ing from  tree  to  tree  where  they  could  find  shelter 


1755-1 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE. 


231 


and  fire  upon  their  pursuers  ;  the  Canadians  and 
Indians  picking  them  off  in  the  same  way,  and  the 
French  regulars  advancing  in  a  body  and  firing  upon 
those  who  remained  in  a  mass  retreating  along  the 
road. 

When  the  noise  of  the  battle  was  heard  at  the 
camp,  the  soldiers  there,  who  had  at  last  begun  the 
building  of  some  hasty  defences  after  Williams  had 
gone  out  with  his  men  in  the  morning,  hurriedly 
dragged  the  cannon  up  from  the  lake  shore  and 
heaped  up  a  breastwork  of  felled  trees.  A  rein- 
forcement of  three  hundred  men,  under  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Cole,  was  sent  out  to  the  help  of  the  re- 
treating division,  and  a  stand  was  made  at  a  little 
sheet  of  water,  which  received  the  name  of  Bloody 
Pond,  and  is  pointed  out  as  the  grave  of  the  unfor- 
tunate Frenchmen  who  fell  upon  its  banks.  Among 
them  was  the  Chevalier  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  who 
was  in  command  of  the  Indians.  He  was  the  officer 
to  whom  Washington  delivered  his  letters  from  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddle  at  Fort  Le  Boeuf. 

When  the  fugitives  reached  the  camp  they  climbed 
over  the  breastwork  of  felled  trees  and  wagons, 
and  waited  for  the  attack.  Dieskau  had  intended 
to  rush  forward  with  the  retreating  division  of  the 
English  and  enter  the  camp  at  the  same  time.  But 
the  Indians  halted  as  soon  as  they  came  in  sight  of 


;H1 


I 


232 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE. 


I1755. 


the  guns,  and  the  Canadians  followed  their  example. 
Dieskau  advanced  toward  the  centre  of  the  camp 
with  his  regulars,  and  when  the  Indians  and  Cana- 
dians scattered  themselves  about  the  swamp  and 
took  shelter  behind  the  trees  instead  of  sustaining 
the  regulars,  he  asked  in  disappointment,  "Are 
these  the  boasted  troops  ?  "  The  regulars,  however, 
behaved  well ;  they  halted  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
from  the  camp,  and  opened  fire  by  platoons.  It 
was  about  half-past  eleven  when  the  battle  began. 
The  three  guns  in  the  centre  returned  the  fire  of 
the  French,  and  Johnson's  men,  sheltered  behind 
the  trees,  picked  off  Dieskau 's  regulars  with  deadly 
precision.  Johnson  was  slightly  wounded  in  the 
beginning  of  the  fight,  and  the  command  devolved 
upon  Lyman,  who  conducted  the  defence  with  the 
greatest  spirit  and  bravery.  Unable  to  stand  the 
fire,  the  French  regulars  went  to  each  side  of  the 
camp  in  succession,  and  fired  into  it,  but  without 
much  effect. 

Excited  and  emboldened  by  their  success,  and 
reenforced  by  the  Mohawks,  who  had  fled  when 
the  French  appeared  in  sight  of  the  camp,  the 
Americans  leaped  over  their  defences  and  fought 
hand-to-hand.  They  had  no  bayonets,  but  they 
struck  with  their  muskets,  and  clubbed  and  beat  so 
furiously  that  nearly  all  the  regulars  who  had  sur^ 


r-  r  f 
I 


«755  J 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE. 


•33 


vived  their  fire  were  knocked  down  and  killed. 
Dieskau,  wounded  three  times  during  the  action, 
would  not  be  carried  away,  but  seated  himself  on 
the  stump  of  a  tree  exposed  to  the  fire,  and  tried 
to  direct  the  movements  of  his  men.  When  they 
were  driven  into  a  disorderly  retreat,  he  was  left 
on  the  field.  As  they  were  flying  he  put  his  hand 
into  his  pocket,  intending  to  take  out*his  watch  and 
give  it  to  one  of  the  pursuers  who  was  about  to  cap- 
ture him  ;  but  the  man  supposed  he  was  drawing 
his  pistol,  and  hastily  fired,  inflicting  an  incurable 
wound. 

Lyman  would  have  followed  up  the  retreat,  and 
a  close  pursuit  might  have  resulted  in  the  capture  of 
ciiiiost  the  entire  army  ;  for  two  hundred  troops 
were  on  the  way  from  Fort  Edward  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Macginnis,  and  the  French  soldiers 
would  have  been  caught  between  the  two  parties. 
But  Johnson  gave  orders  to  call  back  the  men  ;  and 
when  the  French  found  themselves  secure  from 
pursuit  they  halted  beside  Rocky  Brook.  Here  the 
half-starved  men  were  preparing  supper  when  the 
detachment  from  the  fort  fell  upon  them  and  put 
them  to  flight,  after  a  sharp  engagement,  in  which 
Macginnis  was  mortally  wounded.  The  French  bag- 
gage and  ammunition  were  captured. 

The  battle  of  Lake  George,  resulting  in  a  victory' 


m 


234 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE. 


[1755. 


SO  complete,  revived  the  spirit  of  the  English  colo- 
nists from  the  depressing  effects  of  Braddock's  defeat. 
Although  the  victory  was  not  followed  up  by  the 
occupation  of  Ticonderoga  and  the  capture  of  Crown 
Point,  the  original  object  of  the  expedition,  the 
country  looked  upon  it  as  a  great  success.  Johnson 
received  a  baronetcy  and  five  thousand  pounds  from 
England,  to  reward  him  for  the  victory,  which  was 
largely  due  to  Lyman.  Dieskau  was  sent  to  Eng- 
land a  prisoner,  but  returned  to  France  at  the  peace 
of  1763,  and  not  long  afterward  died  from  the  effect 
of  his  wound. 

During  the  autumn  Johnson  kept  his  men  at 
work  strengthening  their  position,  and  built  a 
stockade  fort  at  the  south  end  of  Lake  George, 
which  was  called  Fort  William  Henry.  At  the  ap- 
proach of  winter  he  garrisoned  that  and  Fort  Ed- 
ward, and  allowed  the  rest  of  the  provincial  soldiers 
to  return  to  their  homes.  The  French  took  pos- 
session of  the  important  post  of  Ticonderoga,  and 
busied  themselves  in  fortifying  it  ;  two  thousand 
soldiers  were  said  to  be  assembled  there  in  the 
autumn,  with  a  large  body  of  Indians. 

But  war  had  not  even  yet  been  declared  between 
the  two  countries  whose  colonists  were  thus  meet- 
ing on  battle-fields  in  the  new  world,  aided  by 
regular  troops  from  over  the  seas.     These  hostilities 


[I755- 


X755.] 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE. 


235 


colo- 

efeat. 
y  the 
>own 
1,  the 
hnson 
s  from 
;h  was 
3  Eng. 
peace 
I  effect 

nen    at 
)uilt    a 
eorge, 
he  ap- 
Drt  Ed- 
oldiers 
>k  pos- 
tfa,  and 
ousand 
in   the 

>etween 

3  meet- 

ied    by 

stilities 


were  carried  on  under  the  name  of  measures  of 
defence,  by  which  each  side  professed  to  resist  the 
aggressions  of  the  other  on  territory  of  which  it 
claimed  the  rightful  ownership.  The  French,  how- 
ever, deeply  resented  the  capture  of  their  two  ships 
by  Admiral  Boscawen,  an  act  which  could  not  be 
defended  on  any  such  ground  ;  and  they  soon  had 
still  more  cause  for  resentment.  Sir  Edward  Hawke 
was  sent  out  with  a  fleet  under  orders  to  take  all 
French  ships  he  met  with,  whether  men-of-war  or 
merchantmen  ;  and  letters  of  marque  were  issued 
to  cruisers.  Great  numbers  of  French  vessels  were 
on  the  return  from  Martinique  with  the  products 
of  the  Jesuit  plantations,  and  the  fishing-boats  were 
on  their  way  from  Newfoundland  and  the  Labrador 
coast,  laden  with  the  results  of  the  summer's  work. 
Before  the  end  of  the  year  three  hundred  French 
vessels  and  seven  or  eight  thousand  French  sailors 
had  been  carried  into  English  ports.  The  king's 
share  of  the  spoils  amounted  to  seven  hundred 
thousand  pounds. 

This  alone  was  enough  to  bring  on  a  war.  But 
the  French  were  not  ready  ;  and  they  returned  an 
English  man-of-war  which  had  been  taken  by  some 
French  ships,  protesting  against  the  acts  of  England 
on  the  seas  and  stigmatizing  them  as  piracy.  Prep- 
arations for  the  inevitable  war  went  on,  both  na- 


1 


1  '■ 

\ 

\ 


236 


BATTLE   OF  LAKE   GEORGE. 


[»755. 


tions  seeking  alliances  among  the  other  powers  of 
Europe,  appealing  to  the  resentments,  the  preju- 
dices, and  the  cupidity  of  their  sovereigns.  Prussia 
joined  with  England  ;  Austria,  Russia,  and  Saxony- 
were  on  the  side  of  France.  In  the  general  Euro- 
pean struggle  which  followed,  known  as  the  Seven 
Years*  War,  the  events  of  the  colonial  war  in  Amer- 
ica were  but  lightly  considered,  though  they  deter- 
mined the  fortunes  of  a  continent. 

Governor  Shirley  was  still  continued  at  the  head 
of  affairs,  though  it  began  to  be  evident  that  his 
military  capacity  was  by  no  means  brilliant.  He 
called  a  council  of  governors  in  the  city  of  New 
York  in  December,  1755,  and  laid  out  a  plan  for  the 
campaign  of  the  ensuing  year,  substantially  the  same 
as  that  which  had  been  arranged  for  that  year, 
nothing  having  been  effected  but  the  conquest  of 
Acadia.  Forts  Du  Quesne,  Frederick,  and  Niagara 
still  remained  to  be  taken  ;  and  expeditions  for 
their  capture  were  determined  on  for  the  coming 
summer,  while  a  force  was  to  move  up  the  Kenne- 
bec to  the  settlements  on  the  Chaudidre. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


II 


FRENCH     SUCCESSES. 

Declaration  of  Wa*- — Lord  Loudoun  Commander-in-chief — Inaction 
of  Abercrombie—  Adventure  of  Bradstreet — Capture  of  Fort  Bull 
— Montcalm — Capture  of  Oswego — Movements  of  Webb — Lou- 
doun s  Troops  Quartered  on  the  Cities — Devastation  of  the  Shen- 
andoah Valley — Dinwiddle's  Plan  of  Defence — Washington's  Sug- 
gestions— Destruction  of  Kittanning — The  Iroquois. 

War-  was  at  length  declared  by  England,  May 
17th,  1756.  Governor  Shirley  was  removed  fiom  the 
conwnand  of  the  forces  in  America,  and  c  siiU  more 
incapable  officer  was  appointed  to  the  place,  the 
Earl  of  Loudoun.  Lord  Loudoun's  chief  recom- 
mendation for  the  post  was  his  zeal  for  the  asser- 
tion of  the  rights  of  the  mother-country  over  her 
colonies.  He  was  also  appointed  Governor  of  the 
Dominion  of  Virginia,  and  his  power  as  military 
chief  was  supreme  over  all  the  colonial  governments. 
The  provincial  soldiers  were  to  be  put  under  offi- 
cers of  the  regular  army  whom  Loudoun  might  ap- 
point ;  and  he  was  given  authority  to  quarter  his 
soldiers  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  colonies  at  will. 
General  James  Abercrombie  was  to  be  second  in 
command.      One    hundred    and    fifteen    thousand 


P      !' 


1{I> 


ri 


238 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


[1756. 


pounds  was  voted  to  the  northern  provinces  to  re- 
imburse them  for  the  campaign  of  1755  ;  at  the 
same  time  they  were  forbidden  to  negotiate  with 
the  Indians,  all  dealings  with  whom  were  to  be  left 
to  Sir  William  Johnson,  who  was  responsible  alone 
to  Lord  Loudoun. 

Loudoun's  slowness  and  indecision,  combined 
with  a  great  affectation  of  business  habits,  are  ex- 
hibited by  a  story  of  Franklin,  who  went  to  New  York 
in  the  beginning  of  April  to  sail  for  Europe  in  a 
packet  which  was  to  set  out  immediately,  but  was 
kept  waiting  till  the  end  of  June  for  his  lordship's 
letters,  which  were  always  to  be  ready  to-morrow  ; 
"and  yet,"  says  Franklin,  "  whoever  waited  on.him 
found  him  always  at  his  desk,  pen  in  hand,  and 
concluded  he  must  needs  write  abundantly. "  One 
morning  while  he  was  waiting  for  the  ship's  depart- 
ure Franklin  met  in  the  earl's  antechamber  a  mes- 
senger from  Philadelphia  named  Innis,  with  a  packet 
of  letters  from  the  Governor  to  the  earl.  Franklin 
wished  to  send  back  some  letters  by  him  to  Phila- 
delphia ;  and  Innis  told  him  he  was  to  call  the  next 
morning  at  nine  for  Lord  Loudoun's  answer  to  the 
Governor,  and  should  then  set  out  at  once.  Frank- 
lin prepared  his  letters  and  gave  them  to  Innis  the 
same  day.  "A  fortnight  after,"  continues  Frank- 
lin, "  I  met  him  again  in  the  same  place.      *  So  you 


1756.] 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


2;,9 


are  soon  returned,  Innis  '  '  *  Returned  !  no,  I  am 
not  gone  yet.*  '  How  so  ?'  'I  have  called  here  this 
and  every  morning  these  two  weeks  past  for  his 
lordship's  letters,  and  they  are  not  yet  ready.'  *  Is 
it  possible,  when  he  is  so  great  a  writer  ?  for  I  see 
him  constantly  at  his  escritoire.*  '  Yes,'  said  Innis, 
'  but  he  is  like  St.  George  on  the  signs — always  on 
horseback,  but  never  rides  on.'  " 

The  same  characteristic  was  manifested  in  all  of 
the  earl's  proceedings.  Abercrombie  was  to  go  in 
advance  with  two  battalions,  but  it  was  the  middle 
of  June  before  he  reached  New  York.  On  the  25th 
he  was  in  Albany.  Oswego  was  threatened  by  the 
French,  and  he  was  urged  to  relieve  it  at  once. 
Men,  stores,  and  boats  v/ere  ready,  but  Abercrombie 
was  not.  He  was  busy  with  preparations  to  quarter 
his  soldiers  on  the  town,  and  when  that  was  done  he 
began  to  talk  of  fortifying  Albany  with  a  ditch  and 
stockade,  and  ordered  a  survey  for  that  purpose. 

Colonel  Bradstreet,  who  ha  1  been  sent  to  Oswego 
with  provisions  and  military  stores,  was  surprised 
on  his  way  back  by  a  body  of  Canadians  and 
Indians  about  ten  miles  from  that  place.  A  fight 
ensued,  in  which  Bradstreet  put  the  enemy  to 
flight,  but  he  had  not  men  enough  to  venture  on  a 
pursuit.  One  of  the  prisoners  revealed  the  designs 
of  the  French  and  their  movements  preparatory  to 


-i— ' 


il 


240 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


[1756. 


an  attack  on  Oswego,  which  Bradstreet  reported  to 
Abercrombie,  who  had  ten  thousand  regulars  and 
seven  thousand  provincials  at  his  command.  The 
roads  were  opened,  and  the  two  forts  at  Oswego 
wera  ready  for  occupation  and  well  provided  with 
stores  of  all  kinds.  Abercrombie  ordered  a  regi- 
ment of  regulars  to  prepare  to  go  to  Oswego,  but 
before  they  were  ready  Lord  Loudoun  arrived,  on 
the  29th  of  July.  More  time  was  spent  in  debating 
the  question  of  the  status  of  the  provincial  ofificers 
and  troops,  and  the  regiment  did  not  move  until 
the  I2th  of  August.  The  French  under  De  Lery 
and  De  Villiers  had  been  active  during  the  spring 
in  getting  possession  of  the  approaches  to  Oswego 
from  Albany,  and  in  the  conciliation  of  the  Indians 
of  New  York.  De  Lery  came  from  Montreal  with 
two  hundred  and  sixty-five  men,  and  on  the  27th  of 
March  surprised  the  garrison  of  Fort  Bull,  at  the 
Oneida  portage,  capturing  them  after  a  short  re- 
sistance ;  and  all  but  five  were  massacred,  the  fort 
was  blown  up,  and  the  military  stores  destroyed. 
A  party  of  Indians  descended  upon  some  ship-car- 
penters who  were  working  at  Oswego,  and  returned 
to  Niagara  in  triumph  with  three  prisoners  and 
twelve  scalps.  These  small  successes  and  the  mar- 
tial activity  of  the  French  inclined  the  wavering 
warriors    of    the    Iroquois   toward    their   alliance  ; 


ill 


1756.] 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


141 


and  the  Indians  of  the  upper  country  about  the 
lakes  began  to  flock  to  Fort  Niagara  to  form  war- 
parties. 

During  the  summer  the  French  forces  were 
placed  under  the  command  of  one  of  the  ablest 
soldiers  of  his  time,  Louis  Joseph,  Marquis  de 
Montcalm  de  Saint  Veron.  Small,  quick,  and  ac- 
tive, Montcalm  saw  at  a  glance  what  ought  to  be 
done,  and  wasted  no  time  in  talking  about  it. 
Remaining  only  a  few  days  at  Quebec,  he  sent  a 
force  of  men  to  Fort  Carillon  at  Ticonderoga,  and 
another,  under  De  Villiers,  to  the  Bay  of  Niaour6, 
to  a  spot  now  known  as  Six  Town  Point,  in  Jef- 
ferson county,  to  observe  the  movements  of  the 
enemy  and  keep  him  in  check.  Another  regiment 
was  sent  by  Montcalm  to  Niagara,  accompanied  by 
a  skilful  engineer,  Pouchot,  to  strengthen  the  forti- 
fications there. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  Montcalm,  taking  two  regi- 
ments of  regular  troops  with  him,  left  Fort  Fronte- 
nac,  and,  encamping  at  the  Bay  of  Niaour6,  sent  De 
Villiers  and  Rigaud  de  Vaudreuil  to  take  a  position 
not  far  from  Oswego.  Montcalm  followed,  and  by 
the  1 2th  of  August  the  forces  were  gathered  before 
the  forts  at  Oswego  and  ready  for  operations. 

Fort  Oswego,  or  Pepperell,  called  Chouaguen  by 
the  French,  stood  near  the  site  of  the  "  stone  house 


W' 


243 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


[1756. 


of  strength,"  built  by  Governor  Burnet  in  1726, 
and  was  a  large  stone  fort  with  four  bastions.  On 
an  eminence  across  the  river  which  commanded  it 
Governor  Shirley  had  placed  Fort  Ontario.  The 
garrison  consisted  of  sixteen  hundred  men  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Mercer,  many  of  them  raw  re- 
cruits. 

On  the  night  of  the  12th  of  August,  the  day  when 
the  regiments  started  from  Albany  to  relieve  the 
fort,  the  French  opened  trenches  before  Fort 
Ontario  and  felled  trees  for  an  abatis,  finishing  the 
work  by  daybreak.  The  batteries  opened  fire  that 
day,  and  the  garrison  returned  it  with  spirit  as  long 
as  their  ammunition  lasted  ;  for,  in  addition  to  the 
other  blunders.  Fort  Ontario  had  been  left  with  a 
very  slender  store.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, they  spiked  their  guns  and  crossed  to  Fort 
Oswego  in  boats  sent  over  by  Colonel  Mercer. 

The  French  took  immediate  possession  of  the 
deserted  works,  and  the  guns  of  Fort  Oswego  were 
turned  upon  them.  Mercer  had  sent  a  party  under 
Colonel  Schuyler  to  a  hill  four  and  a  half  miles  up 
the  river,  where  they  were  intrenched,  and  designed 
to  harass  the  French.  But  Montcalm  despatched 
Vaudreuil  with  a  party  of  Canadians  and  Indians  to 
cut  off  communication  between  the  fort  and  the  hill, 
while  his    men  kept  up  a  continuous  fire  on  Fort 


f*  m\i 


1756.] 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


243 


Oswego  with  their  batteries  and  such  guns  of  Fort 
Ontario  as  they  could  use.  Mercer  was  killed  by  a 
cannon-ball  on  the  13th,  and  on  the  14th  the  garri- 
son resolved  to  surrender,  Montcalm  promising 
that  they  should  receive  "  all  the  regard  which  the 
most  courteous  of  nations  could  show." 

The  English  lost  forty-five  men  killed,  and  all  the 
rest  prisoners,  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  cannon, 
six  vessels  of  war,  two  hundred  boats,  and  three 
chests  of  money,  together  with  stores  of  ammunition 
and  provisions.  After  removing  the  stores,  Mont- 
calm destroyed  the  forts  in  the  presence  of  the  war- 
riors of  the  Six  Nations  who  had  accompanied  him. 
Those  Indians  had  always  looked  upon  the  erection 
of  the  forts  as  an  infraction  of  their  rights,  and  this 
act  on  the  part  of  Montcalm  was  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  justice  of  their  claim  and  a  profession 
of  the  intention  of  the  French  to  uphold  them  in  it, 
and  not  continue  the  trespass  by  keeping  the  forts 
for  themselves. 

In  Montcalm's  act  ant  of  the  surrender  he  says  : 
**  Their  stores  were  provided  with  everything  to 
maintain  our  army  during  the  next  campaign.  The 
least  superstitious  attribute  our  success  to  Prov- 
idence. We  have  lost,  notwithstanding,  eighty  men, 
and  our  little  army  had  been  swamped  if  that  valor 
so  justly  attributed  to  the  troops  of  Old   England 


'<   ii 


;,;,  ;l 


l'>    i 


I-- 


244 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


[1756. 


iM 


had  extended  to  her  colonies.  Ours  is  now  more 
flourishing  than  ever  ;  trade  entirely  re-established  ; 
Lake  Ontario  ours  without  any  opposition.  We  can 
hardly  recover  from  our  astonishment.  The  bul- 
wark of  New  England  was  originally  but  the  house 
of  an  individual  whom  the  Iroquois  had  permitted 
to  build  ;  of  this  the  king  took  possession  some 
years  afterward  for  purposes  of  trade.  He  in- 
creased it  with  all  the  works  which  we  demolish- 
ed. Their  loss  is  incredible.  The  Canadians  and 
Indians  have  had  a  very  considerable  slice  of  the 
cake  ;  the  latter  perpetrated  there  a  multitude  of 
horrors  and  assassinated  more  than  one  hundred 
persons  included  in  the  capitulation,  without  our 
being  able  to  prevent  them  or  having  the  right  to 
remonstrate  with  them.  This  species  of  animal  I 
look  upon  as  mad  dogs  ;  when  they  are  intoxicated 
they  are  uncontrollable." 

It  is  said  that  Montcalm,  notwithstanding  his 
pledge  of  honorable  treatment  to  the  prisoners,  de- 
livered up  about  twenty  men  of  the  garrison  to  the 
Indians  to  recompense  them  for  the  same  number  of 
their  men  who  had  fallen  during  the  siege.  It  is 
possible  that  this  and  the  slaughter  of  sick  and 
wounded  prisoners  mentioned  above,  was,  as  he 
says,  beyond  his  power  to  prevent.  The  rest  of  the 
prisoners  were  taken   to  Montreal,  and  exchanged 


1756.] 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


MS 


not  long  afterward.  The  Biitish  flags  were  sent  to 
Montreal,  Quebec,  and  Three  Rivers,  where  they 
were  hung  in  the  churches  as  trophies  of  the  victory. 
The  Abb6  Picquet,  founder  of  the  mission  of  La  Pre- 
sentation, on  the  site  of  (3gdensburg,  was  with  this 
expedition,  and  raised  a  cross  on  the  scene  of  the 
French  victory,  to  which  was  affixed  the  motto.  In 
hoc  signo  vincunt,  "  In  this  sign  they  conquer." 
By  its  side  he  raised  a  column  with  the  King's  arms 
and  the  inscription,  Manibus  date  lilia  plenis,  "  Bring 
lilies,  with  full  hands." 

Webb,  who  had  set  out  from  Albany  the  day  the 
French  began  their  operations  at  Oswego,  was  slowly 
advancing  when  he  received  the  news  of  Montcalm's 
victory.  Waiting  only  to  fell  trees  to  obstruct  the 
passage  of  Wood  Creek,  a  stream  whose  head-waters 
were  near  those  of  the  Mohawk,  and  formed  a  part 
of  the  water  communication  between  Albany  and 
Oswego,  he  fled  back  to  Albany  in  haste  and  terror. 

Montcalm,  supposing  the  English  forces  at  Albany 
would  now  be  turned  against  the  French  forts  on 
Lake  Champlain,  hurried  to  Ticonderoga.  But 
Loudoun  had  no  idea  of  advancing.  The  expedi- 
tion against  Forts  Carillon  and  Frederick  was  given 
up  ;  and  the  general  turned  his  attention  to  quar- 
tering his  troops  for  the  winter,  after  strengthening 
the  works  at   Forts   Edward  and  William    Henry. 


? 


■U    ! 

:■  1 

■■  -  ] 
fe'i 


illiiN 


246 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


[1756. 


The  cities  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  protested 
against  being  forced  to  give  free  quarters  to  the  sol- 
diers in  the  houses  of  the  citizens  ;  but  Loudoun 
threatened  to  bring  all  the  troops  in  North  America 
and  billet  them  upon  those  cities  if  they  resisted. 

While  these  things  were  going  on,  or  failing  to  go 
on,  at  the  north,  and  soldiers  were  lying  inactive  in 
the  safety  cf  the  large  northern  cities,  the  frontiers 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  were  suffering  from 
the  constant  inroads  of  hostile  savages,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  raise  men  in  numbers  sufficient  to  im- 
pose the  least  check  upon  them.  Washington  had 
command  of  all  the  forces  raised,  or  to  be~  raised, 
in  the  province  ;  but  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
get  men  to  respond  to  the  calls  for  gatherings  of  the 
provincial  soldiers. 

The  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  was  especially  ex- 
posed to  these  attacks.  No  farm-house  was  safe, 
and  no  man  sure  of  his  life  for  a  moment,  on  the 
road  or  the  farm,  in  his  own  house,  or  even  in  the 
little  stockaded  forts.  Winchester  was  in  a  state  of 
continual  alarm.  Washington  was  sent  for,  and  de- 
cided that  a  force  of  militia  must  be  raised,  and, 
aided  by  some  of  the  soldiers  from  Fort  Cumber- 
land, must  scour  the  woods  in  search  of  the  maraud- 
ing parties,  which  in  many  instances  were  led  by 
Frenchmen. 


n 


1756.] 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


847 


A  messenger  was  therefore  despatched  to  Kort 
Cumberland  ;  and  all  captains  of  militia  were 
ordered  to  gather  their  men  and  read  to  them  an 
exhortation,  setting  forth  the  danger,  and  appealing 
to  their  patriotism  and  their  interest,  to  assemble  i 
on  the  15th  of  April  to  join  the  expedition.  The 
oflficers  at  Fort  Cumberland  sent  back  word  that  no 
men  could  be  spared  ;  that  detachments  had  been 
sent  out  in  various  directions,  and  the  garrison  was 
no  more  than  sufficient  for  the  defence  of  the  fort. 
The  messenger  reported  that  the  woods  were  filled 
with  lurking  savages  ;  his  own  clothes  were  pierced 
with  bullets,  his  horse  shot  under  him,  and  he  had 
barely  escaped  with  his  life.  The  plan  for  assem- 
bling the  militia  turned  out  no  better  ;  on  the  ap- 
pointed day  only  fifteen  men  presented  themselves. 

The  Indians  grew  bolder  ;  houses  were  burned 
and  families  murdered  all  about  Winchester,  and 
the  inhabitants,  growing  frantic,  gathered  about 
Washington,  imploring  him  to  do  something  to 
avert  the  calamity  ;  but  he  was  paralyzed  by  the  im- 
possibility of  raising  r^en.  In  a  letter  to  Governor 
Dinwiddie  he  wrote  : 

"  I  am  too  little  acquainted  with  pathetic  lan- 
guage to  attempt  a  description  of  these  people's 
distresses.  But  what  can  I  do  ?  I  know  their  dan- 
ger, and  participate  in  their'sufferings,  without  hav- 


348 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


I1756. 


'§.  1 


PSr. 


ing  it  in  my  power  to  give  them  further  relief  than 
uncertain  promises.  The  supplicating  tears  of  the 
women  and  moving  petitions  of  the  men  melt  me 
into  such  deadly  sorrow,  that  I  solemnly  declare, 
if  I  know  my  own  mind,  that  I  could  offer  myself  a 
willing  sacrifice  to  the  butchering  enemy,  provided 
that  would  contribute  to  the  people's  ease." 

This  letter  called  forth  an  order  from  the  Gov- 
ernor for  a  force  of  militia  from  the  upper  counties 
to  go  to  the  relief  of  the  frontier  ;  and  the  Assembly 
voted  an  appropriation  of  twenty  thousand  pounds 
and  an  increase  of  the  provincial  forces  to  fifteen 
thousand  men.  Governor  Dinwiddie  proposed  to 
expend  the  money  in  building  a  chain  of  forts  along 
the  Alleghanies  from  the  Potomac  to  the  border  of 
North  Carolina,  and  to  garrison  the  forts  with  the 
new  militia  to  be  raised.  In  vain  Washington  laid 
before  the  Governor  the  difficulties  of  carrying  out 
such  a  plan.  To  place  the  forts  near  enough 
together  for  the  scouts  to  keep  watch  of  the  whole 
line,  and  to  prevent  the  marauders  from  breaking 
through  at  any  point,  without  assistance  from  dis- 
tant forts,  would  have  called  for  a  much  greater 
outlay  of  money  and  vastly  more  men  than  the 
province  could  possibly  raise. 

Washington's  own  plan  was,  to  build  not  more 
than  four  or  five  strong  forts,  with  large  garrisons. 


X756.] 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


•49 


the  largest  and  strongest  to  be  at  Winchester,  a 
point  where  many  roads  met,  where  news  could  be 
quickly  received  from  all  parts  of  the  valley,  and 
where  the  defenceless  inhabitants  could  take  refuge 
in  case  of  alarm.  But  Dinwiddie  persisted  in  hfs 
design  of  building  twenty-three  forts  along  the 
frontier,  and  of  maintaining  Fort  Cumberland  at 
great  expense,  though  it  was  so  far  away  from  the 
routes  taken  by  the  Indians  that  everything  was 
over  before  the  garrison  could  be  notified.  The 
erection  of  a  central  fort  at  Winchester  was,  how- 
ever, agreed  upon. 

But  the  preparations  for  these  great  defensive 
works  went  on  very  slowly,  and  meantime  the  sav- 
ages kept  up  their  incursions.  The  people  of  the 
Shenandoah  valley,  despairing  of  protection,  left 
their  homes  in  large  numbers,  and  moved  to  the 
eastern  settlements.  It  seemed  that  the  province  of 
Virginia  would  soon  be  practically  bounded  on  the 
west  by  the  Blue  Ridge. 

A  bold  and  successful  attempt  at  retribution  was 
made  this  year  in  Pennsylvania.  An  Indian  town 
called  Kittanning,  about  forty  miles  from  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  was  the  rendezvous  for  parties  of  maraud- 
ing Indians  ;  and  about  one  thousand  people  on  the 
frontier  had  fallen  victims  in  their  raids.  They  were 
led  by  the  chief  Shingis,  and  another  known  as  Cap- 


2SO 


FRENCH  SUCCEOSES. 


[1756. 


* 


tain   Jacobs,  a  bold  and  brave  Indian,  who  boasted 
that  he  could  "  take  any  fort  that  would  catch  fire." 

To  put  a  stop  to  these  raids,  a  party  of  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  Pennsylvanians  placed  themselves 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  John  Armstrong. 
One  of  the  officers  under  him  was  Captain  Hugh 
Mercer,  afterward  of  Revolutionary  fame,  who  had 
served  as  a  surgeon  in  the  army  of  the  Young 
Pretender,  and  after  his  defeat  at  Culloden  escaped 
to  America.  The  men  marched  rapidly  from  Fort 
Shirley  on  the  Juniata,  and  reached  the  Alleghany 
without  a  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  savages  that 
vengeance  was  en  their  track. 

On  the  night  of  the  7th  of  October,  Armstrong's 
men  drew  near  enough  to  hear  the  rejoicings  of 
the  Indians  over  their  victories — the  whoops,  and 
screams,  and  sound  of  drums.  When  the  carouse 
was  over,  the  Indians  made  fires  in  the  fields  and 
went  to  sleep  besid?  them  without  sentinels. 
Armstrong's  men  hid  themselves  until  the  moon 
had  set  and  all  the  warriors  were  asleep  ;  then,  di- 
viding into  two  parties,  they  attacked  the  village 
and  the  sleeping  warriors  in  the  fields  at  the  same  ^ 
time.  The  Indians  fought  with  desperate  bravery  ; 
Captain  Jacobs  defended  himself  to  the  last,  fighting 
through  the  loop-holes  of  his  log  house.  The  vil- 
lage  had   been  set  on  fire,  and  as  the  flames  drew 


1756.] 


FRENCH  SUCCESSES. 


25 » 


near  his  dwelling,  he  was  offered  quarter,  which  he 
refused,  saying  he  would  kill  a  few  before  he  died. 
He  and  the  warriors  with  him  were  at  length  driven 
out  by  the  fire,  and  some  escaped  to  the  woods. 
Captain  Jacobs  attempted  to  get  away,  but  was 
shot  ;  as  was  also  his  son,  who  was  said  to  be  a 
giant  seven  feet  high.  The  whole  town  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  fi.e  ;  the  repeated  explosions  cf 
loaded  guns  and  br'gs  and  kegs  of  powder  showing 
how  well  the  Indians  were  prepared  for  future  raids. 

Both  Armstrong  and  Mercer  were  wounded.  On 
the  return  march,  which  was  made  as  rapidly  as 
possible  for  feir  the  alarm  might  reach  Fort  Du 
Quesne  and  a  party  be  sent  out  in  pursuit,  Mercer 
was  separated  from  his  companions,  and  only 
reached  the  fort  after  fourteen  days  of  lonely  wan- 
dering through  the  woods,  finding  his  way  by  the 
water-courses,  and  living  on  two  dried  clams  and  a 
rattlesnake,  with  a  few  berries. 

The  Six  Nations  were  now  fast  passing  over  from 
their  neutral  position  to  the  side  of  the  French  ;  the 
younger  braves  would  have  taken  up  the  hatchet  at 
once  to  fight  under  Montcalm  for  the  prospering 
cause.  The  English,  losing  these  fickle  allies  by  their 
failures,  were  still  to  meet  more  reverses,  and  bring 
their  military  pretensions  into  still  greater  contempt. 


i 


1 1 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LOUISBOURG  AND   FORT  WILLIAM    HENRY. 

An  Indian  Raid — Encounter  between  Stark's  Men  and  the  French — 
Vaudreuil's  Attempt  at  Fort  William  Henry — Loudoun's  Council — 
Affairs  in  the  South — Plan  to  Take  Louisbourg — Admiral  Hol- 
bourne — Withdrawal  from  Louisbourg — Opinion  in  England — In 
America — Siege  of  Fort  William  Henry — Webb's  Cowardice — 
Monroe's  Surrender — Massacre  by  Montcalm's  Indians — Descent 
on  the  German  Flats — Situation  at  the  Close  of  the  Year — The 
Duke  of  Newcastle — William  Pitt. 

During  the  ensuing  year,  1757,  the  British  cause 
in  America  reached  its  lowest  ebb.  The  French, 
under  the  brilliant  leadership  of  Montcalm,  achieved 
so  many  successes  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  Bourbon 
lilies  would  soon  float  over  every  stronghold  of  the  con- 
tinent. Loudoun  continued  to  give  away  advantages 
by  his  slowness  and  cowardice  ;  and  the  few  brave 
dashes  made  by  parties  of  provincials  were  of  little 
effect,  because  not  followed  by  any  movement  of  the 
main  forces.  During  the  winter,  which  was  very  long 
and  cold,  the  frozen  waters  of  Lake  Champlain  formed 
a  highway  for  war-parties  on  their  deadly  errands. 
An  Indian  chief,  Aouschik,  who  had  killed  one  of 
Montcalm's  engineers  the  summer  before,  mistaking 
him  for  an  Englishman,  demonstrated  the  sincerity  of 


Ji- - 


T 


»757-J 


FORT   WILLIAM  HENRY. 


253 


his  regret  by  bringing  in  thirty-three  English  scalps 
during  the  year.  In  the  course  of  a  discussion  of  a 
treaty  between  his  nation,  the  Nipissings,  and  the 
French,  he  exclaimed,  "What  need  of  councils,  de- 
liberations, and  proposals,  when  action  is  needed  ? 
I  hate  the  Englishman.  1  thirst  for  his  blood.  I 
am  going  to  bathe  in  it;"  and  he  broke  into  a 
hideous  war-song,  and  led  out  his  braves. 

In  January,  John  Stark  led  seventy-four  men  from 
Fort  William  Henry,  on  snow-shoes  and  skates,  to 
Lake  Champlain.  They  attacked  a  party  of  French- 
men who  were  travelling  in  sledges  from  Fort 
Carillon  to  Fort  Frederick,  and  took  three  of  the 
sledges,  with  their  horses,  and  seven  prisoners.  But 
just  as  they  reached  the  land,  in  retreating,  they 
were  attacked  in  turn  by  two  hundred  and  fifty 
French  and  Indians.  Stark's  men  took  shelter  be- 
hind hills  and  trees,  and  fought  till  evening,  when 
they  retreated,  leaving  fourteen  killed  and  six 
missing.  • 

In  February,  Montcalm  formed  a  plan  for  captur- 
ing Fort  William  Henry.  Fifteen  hundred  men, 
under  the  command  of  Rigaud  de  Vaudreuil,  start- 
ing on  the  23d,  crossed  Lakes  Champlain  and 
George,  marching  sixty  leagues  on  snow-shoes. 
Their  provisions  were  drawn  on  sledges,  by  dogs  ; 
and  at  night  they  spre  id  bear-skins  on  the  snow,  or 


lil 


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254 


LOUISBOURG   AND 


[1757. 


raised  tents  in  stormy  weather.  On  the  i8th  of 
March  they  were  in  front  of  the  fort,  but  found 
themselves  disappointed  in  their  hope  of  a  surprise  ; 
they  had  been  discovered,  and  the  garrison  was  on 
the  alert.  Rigaud  thought  it  useless  to  attempt  to 
carry  the  fort  by  assault,  but  set  his  me!n  at  work  to 
destroy  everything  outside  the  works.  For  four 
nights  they  worked  under  fire,  burning  up  the  boats, 
the  mills,  magazines,  and  palisaded  houses,  and  the 
cabins  of  the  rangers.  Three  hundred  and  fifty 
bateaux  and  four  brigantines  were  consumed.  The 
fire  of  the  garrison  inflicted  some  damage,  but  they 
made  no  attempts  by  sorties  to  drive  off  the  French 
or  stop  their  depredations. 

A  council  of  governors  held  at  Boston  in  January 
had  agreed  to  raise  four  thousand  men  in  the 
northern  colonies,  and  New  York  and  New  Jersey 
were  to  be  called  on  for  proportionate  numbers  to 
increase  Lord  Loudoun's  army  for  the  summer 
campaign.  In  March,  another  council  was  held  at 
Philadelphia,  and  Washington  obtained  permission 
from  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  be  present,  wishing  to 
represent  to  Lord  Loudoun  the  interests  of  Virginia. 
He  was  anxious  that  another  attack  should  be  made 
on  Fort  Du  Quesne,  at  the  same  time  with  the 
operations  in  the  north,  since  a  large  part  of  the 
garrison   would    be   drawn    away   to   the  Canadian 


rf'^ 


T757.] 


FORT   WILLIAM   HENRY. 


255 


frontier.  Loudoun  did  not  approve  of  the  plan,  as 
he  desired  the  southern  colonies  simply  to  stand  on 
the  defensive.  He  gave  orders,  however,  in  accord- 
ance with  Washington's  advice,  to  withdraw  the 
garrison  from  Fort  Cumberland,  leaving  Maryland  to 
supply  that  point,  and  make  Fort  Loudoun,  at  Win- 
chester, the  head-quarters  of  the  Virginia  militia. 
Stanwix  was  stationed  on  the  frontier  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Colonel  Henry  Bouquet  had  charge  of  the 
Carolina  border,  and  Webb  was  furnished  with 
nearly  six  thousand  men  to  defend  the  important 
posts  about  Lake  George. 

Loudoun's  own  work  for  the  summer  was  to  be 
the  reduction  of  Louisbourg.  Abandoning  for  the 
time  the  idea  of  capturing  the  forts  on  the  English 
borders,  he  resolved  to  take  the  greater  part  of  his 
forces  to  Halifax,  where  he  was  to  be  joined  by 
an  English-  squadron,  and  proceed  to  Louisbourg. 
The  New  England  provinces  had  been  greatly  dis- 
appointed at  the  surrender  of  that  fortress  by  treaty 
after  they  had  taken  it  in  1745  by  their  almost  un- 
aided prowess,  an  achievement  which  they  justly 
regarded  with  pride  ;  and,  in  addition  to  this,  the 
fact  that  Louisbourg,  when  held  by  the  French,  was 
a  harbor  of  refuge  for  the  cruiser?  that  preyed  upon 
the  colonial  vessels,  made  the  project  for  re-taking  it 
very  popular  in  New  England. 


ii 


!      II 


\   n 


256 


LOUISBOURG  AND 


[1757. 


Admiral  Holbourne  arrived  at  Halifax  early  in 
July  with  a  squadron  and  a  reenforcement  of  fi\  ^ 
thousand  troops  under  Lord  George  Howe.  On  the 
6th  of  th  J  same  month,  Loudoun  sailed  from  New 
York  with  six  thousand  men,  having  first  laid  an 
embargo  on  all  the  ships  in  the  ports  of  British 
North  America  —  an  assumption  of  power  which 
aroused  the  indignation  of  the  colonies,  and  was  not 
approved  by  the  English  Government. 

Arrived  at  Halifax,  Loudoun  set  his  men  at  work, 
levelling  ground  for  a  parade  and  planting  a  vegetable 
garden  to  furnish  protection  against  th<  scurvy.  Then 
he  kept  them  exercising  in  drills,  and  sham  fights, 
and  mock  sieges,  until  the  impatience  of  some  of  the 
subordinate  ofificers  broke  out  into  open  criticism. 
At  the  beginning  of  August,  the  troops  were  em- 
barked for  Gabarus  Bay  ;  but  on  the  4th  informa- 
tion was  received  from  a  captured  sloop  that  the 
French  had  nineteen  ships  of  war  and  three  thou- 
sand regular  troops,  besides  many  Canadians  and 
Indians.  The  English  had  but  seventeen  ships  of 
war,  and  Admiral  Holbourne  dared  not  attack  the 
French  nineteen.  Loudoun  also  prudently  resolved 
to  put  off  the  capture  of  Louisbourg  until  another 
summer,  and  some  of  the  soldiers  were  left  at  Hali- 
fax, while  he  returned  with  t 


greater  part 


to  New  York. 


1757] 


FORT   WILLIAM  HENRY. 


257 


Horace  Walpole  had  written  in  February  of  this 
year,  "I  do  not  augur  very  well  of  the  ensuing 
summer  ;  a  detachment  is  going  to  America  under 
a  commander  whom  a  child  might  outwit  or  terrify 
with  a  pop-gun."  After  news  of  the  fiasco  at  Lou- 
isbourg  reached  England,  he  wrote,  **  Shortly  after 
came  letters  from  the  Earl  of  Loudoun,  stating  that 
he  found  the  French  twenty-one  thousand  strong, 
and  that,  not  having  so  many,  he  could  not  attack 
Louisbourg,  but  should  return  to  Halifax.  Admiral 
Holbourne,  one  of  the  sternest  condemners  of  By"g» 
wrote  at  the  same  time  that  he,  having  but  seven- 
teen ships  and  the  French  nineteen,  dared  not  at- 
tack them.  Here  was  another  summer  lost !  Pitt 
expressed  himself  with  great  vehemence  against  the 
earl ;  and  we  naturally  have  too  lofty  ideas  of  our 
naval  strength  to  suppose  that  seventeen  of  our 
ships  are  not  a  match  for  any  nineteen  others."  * 


*  The  clerk  of  a  church  in  Halifax,  on  the  news  of  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  enterprise  against  Cape  Breton,  gave  out,  for  the  expres- 
sion of  his  own  feelings  and  those  of  the  people  generally,  some 
stanzas  of  the  forty-fourth  psalm  : 

O  God,  we  with  our  ears  have  heard, 

Our  fathers  have  us  told, 
What  works  thou  in  their  days  hadst  done 

Even  in  the  days  of  old. 

Thy  hand  did  drive  the  heathen  out, 
And  plant  them  in  their  place ; 


I  111 

it 


II 


4. 


iZi. 


258 


LOUISBOURG  AND 


[1757. 


Loudoun  was  only  two  days  out  on  his  way  to 
New  York,  when  he  was  met  by  tidings  of  more 
niisfortime  to  the  British  arms.  As  soon  as  it  was 
known  by  the  French  that  he  had  sailed  for  Louis- 
bourg,  Montcalm  resolved  to  strike  another  blow  in 
New  Yorl',  for  which  he  had  been  making  prepara- 
tions during  the  entire  spring  and  summer.  Noth- 
ing had  been  left  undone  to  incite  the  Indians  and 
unite  them  for  a  blow  at  the  English  fortifications  at 
Lake  George.  A  grand  council  was  held  at  Niagara 
on  the  1st  of  July,  at  which  the  Iroquois  gave  belts 

Thou  didst  afflict  the  nations, 
But  them  thou  didst  increase. 

But  now  we  are  cast  off  by  thee, 

And  us  thou  putt'st  to  shame  ; 
And  when  our  armies  do  go  forth, 

Thou  goest  not  with  the  same. 

Thou  mak'st  us  from  the  enemy, 

Faint-hearted,  to  turn  back  ; 
And  they  who  hate  us,  for  themselves 

Our  spoils  away  do  take. 

Like  sheep  for  meat  thou  gavest  us  ; 

'Mongst  lieathen  cast  we  be. 
Thou  didst  for  nought  thy  people  sell ; 

Their  price  enriched  not  thee. 

Thou  mak'st  us  a  reproach  to  be 

Unto  our  neighbors  near, 
Derision  and  a  scorn  to  them 

That  round  about  us  are. 
Rise  for  our  help  and  us  redeem 

Even  for  thy  mercies'  sake. 


I.,li 


^Sik!4;, 


'«>Vii'-^  \itam 


I757.J 


FORT   WILLIAM  HENRY. 


259 


to  the  Hurons^  Ottawas,  and  other  allies  of  the 
French,  as  a  token  of  their  intention  to  join  the 
^  enemies  of  the  English  ;  and  a  belt  was  given  in  re- 
ply, which  was  covered  with  vermilion,  signifying 
an  invitation  to  war.  They  desired  the  Iroquois  to 
bring  to  their  father — that  is,  the  French  Governor — 
some  of  the  bad  meat  they  loved  so  well.  By  the 
"  bad  meat  "  they  meant  the  English. 

Another  congress  was  held  at  Montreal,  at  which 
thirty-three  nations  were  represented,  including 
chiefs  from  Acadia  to  Lake  Superior.  "  We  will  try 
our  father's  hatchet  on  the  English,  to  see  if  it  cuts 
well,"  said  a  chief  of  the  Senecas.  Montcalm  sang 
the  war-song  with  them  every  day  of  the  council, 
and  they  loved  him  as  a  leader  whom  they  never 
had  seen  beaten,  who  could  open  the  way  for  them 
to  an  unlimited  quantity  of  plunder  and  sc?lps.  The 
tribes  were  assembled  at  Fort  St.  John,  on  the  River 
Sorel.  Their  missionaries  came  with  them,  and 
masses  and  hymns  of  the  church  alternated  with  the 
fantastic  dance  and  the  unearthly  yells  that  heralded 
the  strife.  When  all  was  ready,  they  ascended  the 
river  and  Lake  Champlain  in  a  fleet  of  two  hun- 
dred canoes,  and  landed  at  Ticonderoga. 

Several  minor  engagements  took  place  while 
Montcalm  was  preparing  for  the  main  attack.  A 
party  went  out  under  Marin  to  the  vicinity  of  Fort 


''I 


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LOUISBOURG  AND 


[1757- 


Edward,  and  returned  In  triumph.  "  They  did  not 
amuse  themselves  with  making  prisoners,"  said 
Montcahn,  as  the  one  captive  and  the  forty-two 
scalps  were  taken  from  the  boat,  and  exhibited 
before  the  admiring  eyes  of  the  Indians.  A  slight 
skirmish  took  place  at  Harbor  Island  near  Sabbath- 
Day  Point.  A  party  of  three  hundred  was  sent  out 
from  Fort  William  Henry  under  an  officer  named 
Palmer,  to  make  observations,  when  a  band  of 
Ottawas  who  had  been  hiding  for  twenty-four  hours 
suddenly  rushed  upon  the  twenty-two  boats  of  the 
English,  and  made  such  havoc  that  only  twelve 
escaped.  One  hundred  and  sixty  were  taken 
prisoners  ;  the  rest  were  drowned,  or  fell  under  the 
fury  of  the  savages.  After  this  victory,  thi;  Ot- 
tawas wanted  to  go  home.  They  felt  that  they 
had  glory  enough,  and  ought  not  to  tempt  the 
fortunes  of  war  any  farther.  But  Montcalm  held 
another  courjcil,  and  bound  all  the  Indians,  by  th"^ 
presentation  of  the  great  belt  of  six  thousand  shells, 
to  stay  until  the  end  of  the  expedition. 

Fort  William  Henry  was  close  to  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  on  ground  so  low  that  it  seemed  from  a  little 
distance  to  be  resting  on  the  water.  The  walls 
were  low,  and  bastions  rose  at  the  four  corners. 
The  land  immediately  about  the  fort  had  been 
cleared   and   planted  as  a  garden  by  the  garrison. 


.'^■i. 


1757.] 


FORT  WILLIAM  HENRY. 


261 


On  the  east  was  a  morass,  and  the  other  sides  were 
protected  by  a  ditch.  On  the  southeast  was  an 
eminence,  the  summit  of  which  commanded  the  fort, 
•  and  would  have  been  a  better  site  for  the  works. 
On  the  top  of  this  hill  a  camp  was  formed  with 
intrenchments,  which  contained  about  seventeen 
hundred  men,  and  the  fort  four  or  five  hundred. 

Montcalm's  whole  army,  fifty-five  hundred  regu- 
lars and  Canadians  and  sixteen  hundred  Indians, 
crossed  from  Ticonderoga  to  the  foot  of  Lake 
George.  Here,  as  there  was  a  scarcity  of  boats,  a 
division  was  made.  The  Chevalier  De  Levis,  with 
twenty-two  hundred  soldiers  and  six  hundred  Ind- 
ians, marched  by  land  along  the  rugged  trail  on 
the  western  side  of  the  lake,  while  the  rest  of  the 
Indians  set  out  in  their  bark  canoes,  and  the  follow- 
ing day  Montcalm  embarked  with  the  remainder  of 
the  army  and  all  the  baggage  in  two  hundred  and 
fifty  boats.  After  rowing  that  day  and  most  of  the 
night,  they  came  in  sight  of  three  fires  arranged  in  a 
triangle  which  marked  the  camp  of  De  Levis. 

Here   they   halted,    held  a   council  of  war,   and 

■m 

selected  a  place  for  landing  which  was  hidden  from 
the  fort  by  a  point  of  land  extending  into  the  lake. 
During  the  night,  two  of  the  canoes  had  attacked 
two  English  boats  which  were  out  on  the  lake,  and 
after  a  struggle,  in  which  t] 


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Photographic 

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Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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262 


LOUISBOURG  AND 


|i> 


[1757- 


chief,  one  of  the  English  boats  was  captured,  and 
all  the  men  in  it  were  slaughtered,  save  two  who 
were  held  as  prisoners. 

The  next  morning,  August  2d,  the  Indians 
threw  out  a  line  of  canoes  across  the  lake,  and 
raised  the  war-cry.  The  English,  taken  by  surprise, 
withdrew  in  haste  from  their  tents  and  outlying 
barracks,  while  the  detachment  of  De  Levis  scoured 
the  woods,  burned  the  barracks,  chased  the  cattle 
and  horses,  and  slew  a  small  foraging  party  whom 
they  surprised  in  the  woods.  Montcalm  landed 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  fort,  at  the  north- 
west, and  advanced  in  three  columns.  One  detach- 
ment of  Indians  and  Canadians,  under  La  Corne, 
took  a  position  on  the  road  leading  to  Fort  Edward  ; 
another,  under  De  Levis,  formed  an  encampment 
south  of  the  fort ;  while  Montcalm,  with  the  main 
body  of  the  army,  was  on  the  west  shore  of  the  lake, 
at  the  edge  of  the  forest.  The  3d  of  August  was 
employed  in  preparing  for  a  siege. 

On  the  4th,  Montcalm  sent  a  summons  to  Colonel 
Monroe,  commanding  at  the  fort,  to  surrender,  and 
intimated  that  in  case  the  garrison  should  resist,  and 
the  fort  be  finally  taken  by  siege,  he  could  not 
answer  for  the  behavior  of  his  Indians.  Monroe 
had  not  more  than  twenty-two  hundred  men  ;  but 
relying  on  assistance  from  General  Webb,  who  was 


1757] 


FORT  WILLIAM  HENRY. 


263 


at  Fort  Edward,  fifteen  miles  away,  with  four 
thousand  men,  he  answered  that  he  would  not  sur- 
render. "I  will  defend  m>  trust,"  he  said,  "to 
the  last  extremity."  The  French  then  pushed  on 
their  preparations  with  vigor ;  they  dug  trenches, 
brought  fascines  for  the  batteries,  and  gabions  for 
shelter,  and  drew  the  artillery  from  the  landing- 
place.  The  first  battery  was  at  length  prepared,  and 
opened  on  the  fort  in  the  morning  of  the  6th,  to  the 
great  delight  of  the  Indians,  who  had  seen  but  little 
artillery  practice,  and  were  nearly  beside  themselves 
at  the  noise  of  the  big  guns.  The  fire  was  returned, 
but  with  much  less  power,  while  the  trenches  were 
carried  so  close  to  the  fort  that  the  Indians  could 
stand  near  enough  to  fire  upon  the  works  with- 
out danger  from  the  guns.  Another  battery  was 
erected,  and  the  sharp-shooters  drew  closer  around 
the  fort,  hiding  not  only  in  the  zigzags,  but  behind 
every  forest  tree  or  cover  of  any  kind. 

The  walls  of  the  fort  were  fast  giving  way  under 
the  fire  of  the  batteries,  and  the  garrison  were  fall- 
ing under  the  deadly  bullets  ;  but  Monroe  still  held 
out,  hoping  for  relief ;  for  General  Webb  was  well 
aware,  from  the  first,  of  the  approach  of  the  French 
army,  and  of  Monroe's  brave  defence.  When  Mont- 
calm was  coming  over  the  lake,  Webb  was  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Fort  William   Henry  ;    and  Israel 


364 


LOUISBOURG  AND 


[1757. 


m 


\ 


Putnam,  who  was  on  the  lake  with  a  party  of 
rangers,  discovered  the  movement  of  the  French 
and  hastened  to  Webb  with  the  news,  urging  him  to 
oppose  the  landing  ;  but  Webb  —enjoining  secrecy 
on  Putnam,  it  is  said — fell  back  to  Fort  Edward. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  siege.  Sir  William 
Johnson  arrived  at  Fort  Edward  with  some  Indians 
and  militia,  whom  he  had  hastily  gathered  after 
hearing  of  the  departure  of  Montcalm's  army  from 
Ticonderoga.  Finding  that  Webb  was  determined 
to  do  nothing,  he  asked  to  be  allowed  to  make  up  a 
body  of  reenforcements  from  those  who  would  vol- 
unteer to  go.  Webb  consented  at  first,  but  after- 
ward withdrew  his  consent ;  and  the  whole  four 
thousand  at  Fort  Edward  remained  inactive.  A 
letter  was  despatched  by  Webb  to  the  fort,  prob- 
ably on  the  daj''  of  Johnson's  arrival,  advising 
Monroe  to  surrender,  as  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  send  any  help  unless  he  himself  should  be 
reenforced  from  Albany,  and  giving  an  exaggerated 
account  of  the  strength  of  the  French.  The  mes- 
senger was  taken  by  a  party  of  French  on  the  road 
between  the  two  forts,  who  read  the  letter,  and 
then  sent  it  on  to  Monroe. 

On  the  sixth  day  of  the  siege,  August  9th,  when 
half  of  the  guns  of  the  fort  had  burst,  and  the 
ammunition   was    nearly  gone,    Monroe,    knowing 


t!^ 


I757-J 


FORT   WILLIAM  HENRY. 


265 


I » ■  If 


that  he  had  nothing  to  hope  for  from  Webb,  hung 
out  a  flag  of  truce.  In  arranging  the  terms  of  ca- 
pitulation, Montcalm  invited  the  Indian  chiefs  to 
the  council,  in  order  to  make  it  binding  on  them. 
The  garrison  were  to  march  out  with  the  honors  of 
war,  carrying  their  private  effects,  and  delivering  up 
the  fort,  with  the  intrenched  camp  and  all  its  de- 
pendencies, and  all  the  artillery,  provisions,  and  war- 
like stores,  to  his  Most  Christian  Majesty  the  King 
of  France.  The  garrison  and  other  troops  were  not 
to  serve  against  his  Most  Christian  Majesty  or  his 
allies  for  the  space  of  eighteen  months. 

All  French  prisoners  taken  by  land  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  were  to  be  delivered  at  Fort  Carillon 
within  three  months ;  and,  according  to  receipts 
given  by  the  French  officers  to  whom  they  should 
be  surrendered,  an  equal  number  of  the  troops  at 
Fort  William  Henry  should  be  released  from  their 
engagement  not  to  serve  in  the  English  armies.  An 
officer  was  to  be  left  as  a  hostage  until  the  return  of 
the  escort  to  be  provided  for  the  English  troops. 
^  The  sick  and  wounded  were  to  remain  with  Mont- 
calnl,  who  promised  to  take  proper  care  of  them 
and  return  them  as  soon  as  they  were  recovered.  As 
a  mark  of  esteem  to  Colonel  Monroe  and  the  gar- 
rison, for  their  honorable  defence,  Montcalm  gave 
them  **  one  piece  of  cannon,  a  six-pounder." 


266 


LOUISBOURG  AND 


[1757. 


,1  ; 


The  English  retired  to  the  intrenched  camp,  and 
the  French  took  possession  of  the  fort,  while  the 
Indians  spent  the  night  in  a  wild  carouse  in 
honor  of  the  victory.  When  the  English  marched 
out  in  the  morning,  carrying  their  arms  and  baggage, 
and  accompanied  by  an  escort  from  the  French 
army,  the  rage  and  cupidity  of  the  Indians  were 
at  once  excited  ;  they  were  never  able  to  understand 
the  consideration  shown  to  prisoners  by  civilized 
nations,  and  they  had  been  drawn  to  the  fight  by 
the  hope  of  plunder,  as  well  as  the  thirst  for  blood. 
At  a  favorable  spot  a  short  distance  from  the  camp, 
they  fell  upon  the  luckless  soldiers,  stripptd  them 
of  everything  they  carried,  and  even  of  the  clothes 
they  wore,  and  hewed  them  down  without  mercy. 
Attacked  in  this  unexpected  way,  the  troops  who 
had  just  shown  so  much  bravery  in  the  defence  of 
the  fort  were  thrown  into  a  panic  of  uncontrollable 
terror,  and  fled  in  all  directions,  some  to  the  woods, 
some  to  the  French  soldiers  for  protection.  Twelve 
to  fifteen  hundred  were  taken  captive  by  the  Indians, 
and  many  vi^ere  killed. 

In  regard  to  the  conduct  of  the  French  officers 
and  soldiers  during  this  horrible  scene,  the  accounts 
are  conflicting.  According  to  one  English  statement, 
the  French  officers  neglected  and  even  refused 
during  the  massacre  to  take  any  of  the  measures 


X757.] 


FORT  WILLIAM  HENRY. 


267 


Stipulated  in  the  surrender,  and  neither  officers  nor 
troops  gave  any  protection  ;  according  to  French 
accounts,  Montcalm  besought  them  to  kill  him,  but 
spare  the  English,  who  were  under  his  protection, 
while  De  Levis  rushed  into  the  midst  of  them  again 
and  again,  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  to  arrest  the 
slaughter,  many  of  the  French  officers  received 
wounds  in  attempting  to  protect  those  whom  they 
had  rescued  from  the  fury  of  the  savages,  and  Mont- 
calm bade  the  English  defend  themselves. 

The  great  number  of  the  captives  seems  to 
make  it  improbable  that  any  very  determined  effort 
was  made  to  protect  them  ;  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  French  officers,  with  whom  rested  the  re- 
sponsibility of  carrying  out  the  terms  of  the  capitu- 
lation, did  all  that  could  be  done  by  commands  and 
entreaties  to  stay  the  fury  of  the  savages,  yet  would 
not  give  any  order  to  their  soldiers  which  would 
imperil  the  friendship  of  the  Indians.  But  they  had 
industriously  excited  the  fury  of  the  savages  by 
appealing  to  their  lowest  passions,  and  could  not 
control  it  when  their  own  purposes  were  accom- 
plished. 

About  six  hundred  of  the  troops  reached  Fort 
Edward  after  escaping  to  the  woods.  Montcalm 
released  the  prisoners  still  kept  by  the  Indians  near 
the  French  camp,  sending  them  to  the  fort  with  a 


1 


f    ! 


V 


268 


LOUISBOURG  AND 


[1757. 


powerful  escort,  and  Rigaud  de  Vaudreuil  was  sent 
to  ransom  those  who  had  been  carried  away.  Fort 
William  Henry  was  then  razed  to  the  ground,  the 
English  vessels  were  destroyed,  and  nine  hundred 
men  were  set  at  work  to  load  the  stores  for  trans- 
portation. Among  them  were  provisions  for  six 
months  for  an  army  of  five  thousand  men. 

The  news  of  the  capture  of  the  fort  and  the 
slaughter  by  the  Indians  aroused  the  colonies,  and 
Webb  called  loudly  for  help,  fearing  an  attack  on 
Fort  Edward.  MiHtia  were  sent  from  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut,  but  the  French  had  departed  with- 
out attempting  anything  further,  and  the  shores  of 
Lake  George  were  a  solitude. 

Late  in  November  of  this  year,  a  force  of  three 
hundred  French  and  Indians,  under  an  officer  named 
Belletre,  made  a  descent  upon  a  settlement  on  the 
Mohawk  called  German  Flats,  near  Fort  Herkimer. 
Sixty  houses,  with  the  mill  and  other  buildings, 
were  burned,  forty  of  the  settlers  were  killed,  and  a 
hundted  and  fifty  were  carried  away  prisoners.  A 
large  amount  of  plunder  was  taken,  one  Indian,  it  is 
said,  having  thirty  thousand  livres  (about  six  thou- 
sand dollars)  in  money.  The  mayor  of  the  village 
lost  four  hundred  thousand  livres'  worth  of  property. 

Belletre  was  entrusted  with  messages  by  some  of 
the  Iroquois  to  their  "  father,"    the   Governor   of 


I757-] 


FORT    WILLIAM  HENRY, 


369 


Canada,  professing  faithfulness,  and  asking  for  aid 
to  resist  the  English.  Sir  William  Johnson  sent  an 
interpreter  to  some  Oneida  and  Tuscarora  Indians 
at  the  German  Flats,  to  demand  why  they,  having 
knowledge  of  the  intended  attack,  had  not  warned 
the  peoole  of  the  settlement.  An  Oneida  chief  re- 
plied that  they  did  give  warning  to  the  Germans  at 
the  settlement,  telling  them  to  prepare  for  an  at- 
tack, and  send  word  to  Warraghiyagey  (Sir  William 
Johnson)  ;  that  the  warning  was  disregarded  and 
the  message  not  sent,  the  Germans  declaring  they 
did  not  fear  the  enemy  ;  and  that  they  sent  a  warn- 
ing, accompanied  by  a  belt  of  wampum,  on  the  day 
preceding  the  attack,  of  which  no  more  notice  was 
taken.  The  Germans  present  acknowledged  the 
truth  of  the  Indian  statements  before  the  inter- 
preter. 

Lord  Loudoun  was  in  New  York  when  Fort  Wil- 
liam Henry  was  taken.  One  of  his  plans  was,  to 
form  an  encampment  on  Long  Island,  which  he 
imagined  would  in  some  way  protect  the  country. 
As  the  winter  approached,  the  troubles  about 
quartering  soldiers  were  repeated.  Boston  refused, 
and  Loudoun  yielded,  after  having  written,  **I  have 
ordered  the  messenger  to  wait  but  forty-eight  hours 
in  Boston  ;  and  if,  on  his  return,  I  find  things  not 
settled,  I  will  instantly  order  into  Boston  the  three 


I 


\i  I 


ayo 


LOUISBOURG  AND 


Li757. 


regiments  from  New  York,  Long  Island,  and  Con- 
necticut ;  and  if  more  are  wanted,  I  have  two  in  the 
Jerseys  at  hand,  besides  three  in  Pennsylvania." 

Thus  closed  a  year  of  disasters  to  the  British  cause 
in  America.  The  French  were  in  actual  possession 
of  very  nearly  all  they  had  clanned  previous  to  the 
war.  They  had  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  ex- 
cept a  fort  on  the  Upper  Tennessee  ;  they  had  the 
basin  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  its  tributary  waters 
in  northeastern  New  York  ;  and  they  had  made  an 
open  passage  to  the  west  by  the  capture  of  Oswego. 
They  had  won  over  many  of  the  Iroquois  tribes ; 
and  the  Cherokees,  who  still  remained  faithful  to 
the  English,  showed  signs  of  alienation.  Acadia 
was  in  constant  danger  from  the  strong  force  of  men 
and  ships  at  Louisbourg.  If  they  were  not  checked, 
they  would  have  nothing  to  do  but  carry  war  into 
the  heart  of  the  English  colonies.  At  the  same 
time,  the  British  had  not  been  more  successful  in 
Europe.  Imbecility  seemed  to  control  all  the  acts 
of  the  administration  and  the  military  authorities. 
The  Duke  of  Newcastle  was  again  the  nominal  head 
of  the  ministry — Newcastle,  the  ignorant  and  incom- 
petent nobleman,  who  is  reported,  if  not  with  truth, 
yet  with  a  happy  hit  at  his  characteristics,  to  have 
said,  "Oh,  yes,  yes,  to  be  sure,  Annapolis  must  be 
defended  ;  troops  must  be  sent  to  Annapolis — pray, 


1757.] 


FORT  WILLIAM  HENRY, 


271 


where  is  Annapolis?  Cape  Breton  an  island  ?  Won- 
derful !  Show  it  to  me  on  the  map.  So  it  is,  sure 
enough.  My  dear  sir,  you  always  bring  us  good 
news.  I  must  go  and  tell  the  King  that  Cape  Breton 
is  an  island." 

But  William  Pitt  was  made  Secretary  of  State, 
and  Newcastle  was  obliged  to  leave  to  him  the  en- 
tire management  of  the  war. 

The  disgraceful  defeats  in  America  had  roused 
a  storm  of  indignation  in  England.  Loudoun  was 
severely  censured.  "  Nothing  has  been  done,"  said 
Pitt,  "nothing  attempted.  Every  door  is  open  to 
France."  Loudoun  was  recalled  ;  the  quarrels  with 
the  colonies  about  raising  a  common  fund  for  war 
purposes  and  taxation  by  Parliament  were  aban- 
doned ;  all  provincial  ofificers,  from  colonels  down- 
ward, were  made  equal  in  rank  to  corresponding 
officers  in  the  regular  army  ;  and  the  colonies  were 
asked  to  raise  as  many  men  as  possible,  and  to 
clothe  and  pay  them.  P'tt  promising  that  the  King 
would  recommend  Parliament  to  reimburse  them, 
while  all  munitions  of  war  were  to  be  provided  by 
England. 

While  vigorous  measures  were  thus  taken  by  the 
English  Government,  and  the  outlook  for  the  com- 
ing year  was  more  encouraging,  the  victorious 
French  in  Canada  began  to  feel  that  they  were  on 


I 


III 


272 


FORT   WILLIAM  HENRY. 


[1757. 


the  eve  of  reverses.  The  men  had  left  their  fields 
untilled,  to  follow  Montcalm  ;  rain  had  destroyed 
the  crops,  so  that  in  some  parishes  there  was  not 
enough  left  to  furnish  seed  ;  and  France  sent  no 
supplies.  Not  only  the  army,  but  the  entire  body 
of  inhabitants,  were  put  on  a  reduced  allowance. 
Montcalm  predicted  that  New  France  must  fall 
sooner  or  later,  such  were  the  numbers  of  the  Eng- 
lish, and  such  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  supplies  in 
Canada. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 

Plan  of  the  Campaign — Siege  of  Louisbourg — The  Surrender  — 
Effect  of  the  Victory — Destruction  of  French  Settlements-  Expe- 
dition against  Ticonderoga — Skirmish  in  the  Woods — Death  of 
Lord  Howe — The  Attack — The  Flight — Terror  of  the  General- 
Conduct  of  Bradstreet. 

For  the  prosecution  ot  the  war  in  1758,  Aber- 
crombie  succeeded  Lord  Loudoun,  with  command 
of  the  forces  that  were  to  attack  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point.  Lord  Howe,  a  young  nobleman  of 
military  ability  and  great  personal  popularity,  was 
made  second  in  command.  Admiral  Boscawen  was 
given  charge  of  the  fleet  destined  for  Louisbourg. 
Colonel  Jeffrey  Amherst,  who  had  served  with  dis- 
tinction in  Germany,  was  made  a  major-general 
and  sent  to  America  to  command  the  land  forces 
to  cooperate  with  Boscawen  ;  and  under  him  were 
Brigadier-Generals  VVhitmore,  Lawrence,  and  James 
Wolfe.  The  reduction  of  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  in- 
trusted to  Brigadier-General  Joseph  Forbes,  who  was 
called,  from  his  obstinacy,  "  the  Head  of  Iron."  A 
large  number  of  men  was  raised  in  the  colonies,  and 
twelve  thousand  were  sent  from  Englaiid  with  Am- 


«l 


i 


iii  i' 


m 


274 


LoUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA, 


[1758. 


herst,  so  that  the  entire  British  force  in  America 
was  not  far  from  fifty  thousand. 

Amherst,  delayed  by  storms,  did  not  reach  Hah*- 
fax  till  the  end  of  May,  when  he  met  Boscawen's 
fleet  just  coming  out  of  the  harbor.  The  Admiral 
had  given  him  up;  and,  leaving  a  strong  force  to 
guard  the  town,  was  about  to  sail  without  him.  On 
the  2d  of  June,  the  entire  force  arrived  at  Gabarus 
Bay.  There  were  twen.^:y-two  ships  of  the  line,  and 
fifteen  frigates,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  smaller 
vessels  ;  and  the  army  amounted  to  over  eleven  thou- 
sand men.  In  the  brigade  under  Wolfe  were  Isaac 
Barre,  the  eloquent  advocate  of  the  cause  of  America 
in  the  British  Parliament  a  few  years  later,  and 
Richard  Montgomery,  a  young  Irishman,  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  destined  to  die  under  the  walls  of 
Quebec  in  a  later  struggle. 

Amherst,  hoping  to  surprise  the  garrison  at  Louis- 
bourg,  ordered  great  care  and  silence  to  be  observed 
in  making  the  landing.  But  in  the  morning  the 
shore  was  enveloped  in  a  dense  fog,  and  as  it  cleared 
away,  a  high  wind  drove  the  surf  on  the  beach  so 
heavily  as  to  make  landing  impossible,  and  give  the 
French  time  for  preparation.  Lawrence  and  Wolfe, 
however,  went  out  in  the  evening  and  reconnoitred 
the  shore,  notwithstanding  the  dangerous  roll  of  the 
surf.     They  found  thai  the   French   had   thrown  a 


4.         [1758. 
1  America 

each  Hali- 
^oscawen's 
e  Admiral 
g  force  to 
him.  On 
it  Gabarus 
J  line,  and 
ity  smaller 
2ven  thou- 
►vere  Isaac 
f  America 
later,  and 
1,  twenty- 
le  walls  of 

at  Louis- 
;  observed 
rning  the 

it  cleared 

beach  so 
i  give  the 
id  Wolfe, 
onnoitred 
•oil  of  the 

thrown  a 


Fm- 


it 


9; 

P 


it- 


Iff 


'     s 


I: 


I    Ik 


■I  i 


'M  ii'i 


r 


?  'V- 


;  ^- 

I 

...  .(V  .1 

■'' 

i.    ' 

;■■ 

t 

.  .  ,■  , 

^' 

1 

I      1' 

m 

IjiH^^I 

' 

1 ^^^^^1 

mmmsmassBSBm 

1758.] 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


a7S 


chain  of  posts  across  the  countrj^  and  placed  bat- 
teries in  a  position  to  command  the  shore  where  a 
landing  would  be  most  likely  to  be  attempted. 

For  six  days  they  waited  for  the  svaves  to  subside  ; 
on  the  8th  of  June,  though  the  sea  was  still  rolling 
heavily,  a  landing  was  found  to  be  possible,  and  un- 
dercover of  a  fire  from  seven  of  the  frigates,  the  boats 
were  rowed  toward  the  shore  at  Cormoran  Creek, 
while  three  sloops  were  sent  past  the  harbor  to  draw 
off  the  attention  of  the  enemy.  Many  of  the  boats 
were  upset,  and  some  of  them  broken,  by  the 
violence  of  the  waves.  The  French  reserved  their 
fire  till  the  boats  were  close  to  the  shore,  and  then 
poured  on  them  a  sudden  volley  which  struck  down 
many  of  the  men,  and  disabled  some  of  the  boats. 
Wolfe's  flag-staff  was  shivered  ;  but,  forbidding  his 
men  to  return  the  fire,  he  urged  on  the  rowers,  and 
leaping  into  the  sea,  led  his  men  through  the  surf. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  whole  division  was  on  shore. 
The  French  retreated  in  disorder  from  their  in- 
trenchments,  and  the  British  pursued,  taking  seventy 
prisoners,  and  only  retreating  when  they  came  within 
range  of  the  guns  of  Louisbourg. 

It  was  not  till  the  nth  that  the  artillery  and  other  ' 
supplies  could  be  landed.     On  the  I2th  the  French 
abandoned   their    outposts    and  concentrated  their 
whole  force  on  the  defence  of  the  town.      Wolfe 


u 


1 


I  I  M 
ii 


>il   ' 


t1 


276 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


[1758. 


pushed  on  his  men  around  the  northern  and  eastern 
shores  of  the  bay  to  Lighthouse  Point,  a  promontory 
on  the  northeast  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbor. 
Between  this  and  the  town,  which  occupied  another 
promontory  on  the  western  side  of  the  harbor,  was 
Goat  Island,  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  entrance 
to  the  bay.  Here  the  French  had  a  battery.  Wolfe 
placed  a  battery  on  Lighthouse  Point,  from  which 
he  could  command  Goat  Island  and  fire  upon  the 
ships  ;  and  by  the  25th  the  Goat  Island  battery  was 
silenced.  Leaving  a  detachment  in  charge  of  the 
battery  at  the  Point,  Wolfe  took  possession  of 
another  position,  near  the  town,  where  he  erected 
a  battery  to  play  upon  the  fort  and  the  ships. 

The  siege  went  on  for  weeks  ;  but  its  progress, 
though  slow,  was  steady  and  sure.  The  heavy  surf 
and  the  continuous  rains  interfered  with  the  landing 
of  munitions  from  the  fleet  and  the  work  of  the 
engineers.  On  the  9th  of  July,  six  hundred  French- 
men made  a  sally  from  the  fort,  and  surprised  a 
detachment  of  the  English,  killing  their  commander, 
the  Earl  of  Dundonald,  and  putting  his  men  to 
flight ;  but  another  English  detachment  coming  up, 
the  French  were  driven  back  with  the  loss  of  twenty 
dead  and  eighty  prisoners. 

The  commander  of  the  fort,  the  Chevalier  de 
Drucour,  held  out  bravely  ;  he  had  under  him  be- 


i 


1758.] 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


277 


tween  five  and  six  thousand  men — soldiers,  sailors, 
and  Indians — with  five  ships  of  the  line,  and  four 
frigates,  three  of  which  he  had  ordered  to  be  sunk  at 
the  entrance  of  the  harbor.  On  the  21st  of  July,  ^ 
his  three  largest  ships  of  war  took  fire  from  a  shell. 
On  the  22d  the  citadel  was  burned,  and  the  town  of 
Louisbourg  was  soon  a  pile  of  ruins  ;  forty  of  the 
fifty-two  cannon  were  disabled,  and  on  the  night  of 
the  25th  two  young  English  captains  took  boats  of 
the  fleet  and,  boarding  the  two  remaining  vessels,  set 
fire  to  one  and  carried  off  the  other.  The  celebrated 
Captain  James  Cook  participated  in  this  enterprise. 

With  the  town  in  ruins,  the  cannon  silenced,  the 
ships  gone,  and  the  English  ready  to  sail  into  the 
harbor,  Drucour  proposed  to  capitulate  ;  but  think- 
ing the  terms  offered  too  severe,  he  would  have  re- 
fused and  submitted  to  a  general  assault.  The 
clamor  of  the  inhabitants,  however,  decided  him  to 
yield.  The  garrison,  with  the  sailors  and  marines 
— five  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven  in  all — • 
were  made  prisoners  of  war  and  sent  to  England  ; 
and  Cape  Breton  and  Prince  Edward's  Island  were 
taken  possession  of  by  the  English  troops.  , 

The  capture  of  Louisbourg,  after  so  many  reverses, 
aroused  great  enthusiasm  throughout  America. 
Captain  Amherst,  brother  of  the  general,  carried  the 
news  to    England.      Eleven   stand   of    colors,   the 


\\ 


r 


li 


278 


LOUISBOUKG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


[1758. 


trophies  of  victory,  were  borne  through  the  streets 
of  London  by  a  procession,  to  the  sound  of  martial 
music,  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  sovereign,  and  then 
Iiung  up  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  Boscawen  and 
Amherst  were  honored  with  official  acknowledgment 
of  their  services  ;  but  the  daring  and  dash  of  Wolfe 
made  him  the  popular  hero  of  the  enterprise. 

In  August,  seven  ships  of  the  line  and  three 
frigates  under  Sir  Charles  Hardy  were  sent  to  carry 
a  body  of  soldiers  under  Wolfe  to  destroy  the  French 
settlements  along  the  coast,  beginning  with  the 
villages  of  the  unfortunate  Acadians  in  the  north- 
east, and  passing  along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  to  Gasp6,  and  thence  as  far  up  the  river 
as  the  season  would  permit,  while  Monckton  was 
sent  to  the  settlements  on  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  the 
River  St.  John.  The  villages  were  laid  in  ruins,  and 
the  inhabitants  were  scattered  or  carried  away.  The 
intendant  in  charge  of  Mont  Louis,  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence, offered  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  livres  to 
save  the  stores  which  were  gathered  at  that  flourish- 
ing fishing-station  ;  but  there  was  no  authority  for 
anything  but  destruction,  and  the  place  was  left  in 
ruins. 

Amherst  had  hoped  to  follow  up  the  capture  of 
Louisbourg  with  that  of  Quebec.  But  the  length  of 
the  siege  and  the  lateness  of  the  season  made  it  un- 


" 


1758.] 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


279 


advisable  to  attempt  it,  and  the  news  from  Lake 
George  decided  him  to  move  his  troops  in  that 
direction. 

At  the  beginning  of  July,  1758,  the  largest  army 
that  had  ever  been  gathered  on  American  soil  by 
any  European  nation  was  encamped  on  the  shore 
of  Lake  George,  preparing  for  an  attack  on  the 
French  fortresses  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 
There  were  six  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  regulars,  and  nine  thousand  and  twenty-four 
provincials.  Abercrombie  was  commander-in-chief, 
and  under  him  was  the  young  and  gallant  Lord 
Howe,  whose  brother  was  afterward  commander  of 
the  British  army  in  America,  in  the  time  of  the 
Revolution.  Among  the  provincials  were  Stark, 
Putnam,  Bradstreet,  and  Robert  Rogers  with  his 
famous  company  of  rangers. 

Rogers  and  his  men  had  made  a  reconnoissance 
and  brought  back  a  plan  of  the  works  of  Fort 
Carillon  'and  the  surrounding  country.  The  fort 
was  on  a  point  of  land  extending  into  Lake 
Champlain  where  it  is  joined  by  the  outlet  of 
Lake  George.  In  front  of  the  fort  and  south 
of  it  was  the  little  bay  formed  by  the  junction 
of  the  waters  ;  on  the  east  was  Lake  Champlain. 
Between  the  fort  and  the  waters  of  the  lake  where 
they  widen    slightly   at    the    north    of    the    little 


w  0 


1  :i. 


28o 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA, 


[1758. 


peninsula,  the  ground  was  low  and  marshy ;  the 
only  approach  by  land  was  on  the  northwest,  and 
there  Montcalm,  who  was  in  command  with  about 
three  thousand  men,  had  made  an  intrenchment, 
with  an  abatis  of  felled  trees,  whose  parapet  was 
covered  with  interwoven  branches. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  Abercrombie's  army  em- 
barked on  Lake  George  in  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  whale-boats  and  nine  hundred  small  boats. 
The  artillery  was  placed  on  rafts,  and  the  fleet 
moved  down  the  lake  with  banne«s  and  music. 
The  first  night  they  landed  at  Sabbath-Day  Point  ; 
but  before  midnight  they  reembarked,  and  by  nine 
in  the  morning  had  reached  the  little  river  which 
forms  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  where  they  landed  and 
formed  in  columns. 

This  river,  which  is  very  winding,  and  interrupted 
by  rapids  and  falls,  is  nearly  four  miles  long.  The 
direct  road  from  Lake  George  to  Ticonderoga 
crossed  it  by  two  bridges,  and  at  the  bridge  nearest 
the  fort  the  French  had  built  saw-mills.  Mont- 
calm, when  he  learned  of  the  presence  of  the 
English  on  the  lake,  sent  out  two  regiments  to 
oppose  the  landing,  but  afterward  recalled  them, 
only  placing  three  pickets  at  the  portage,  and  send- 
ing out  three  hundred  men  under  De  Tr6p6z6e  for 
observation. 


058.] 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


281 


Instead  of  landing  on  the  east  side  and  taking 
the  road,  the  English,  seeing  that  the  French  had 
burned  the  bridges,  landed  on  the  west  side  and 
marched  through  the  woods,  following  the  windings 
of  the  river.  Tr6p6z6e's  men,  thus  left  behind,  and 
cut  ofT  from  the  fort,  struck  into  the  woods  to  march 
around  the  English,  and  get  to  their  own  army 
before  the  landing  should  be  finished,  but  they  lost 
their  way  ;  and  having  groped  about  in  the  woods 
for  twelve  hours,  they  unexpectedly  came  face  to 
face  with  an  advance  party  oi  the  English  under 
Lord  Howe,  near  Trout  Brock,  or  Bernes  River. 
In  the  skirmish  that  ensued,  the  Frenchmen 
fought  bravely,  hand-to-hand,  cr  sheltering  them- 
selves behind  the  forest  trees.  Lord  Howe  was  one 
of  the  first  to  fall,  struck  by  a  musket-ball  in  the 
breast,  and  died  immediately.  Maddened  by  the 
loss  of  their  favorite  leader,  his  men  fought  still 
more  fiercely,  and  the  French  were  soon  over- 
powered. Not  more  than  twenty  escaped  ;  Tr6p6z^e 
was  mortally  wounded  ;  a  hundred  and  fourteen 
were  made  prisoners  ;  the  rest  fell  on  the  battle-field 
or  were  drowned  in  the  stream. 

The  death  of  Lord  Howe  was  an  irreparable  loss  to 
Abercrombie's  army.  All  spirit  and  decision  in  the 
ordering  of  its  movements  seemed  to  die  with  him. 
Abercrombie  had  no  generalship,  no  courage,  and 


r 


282 


LOUJSBOL'h'G   A. YD    TICONDEROGA. 


[1758. 


no  confidence  in  the  advice  of  provincial  officers. 
With  the  soldiers,  Howe  had  gained  a  wonderful 
popularity.  A  French  writer  who  was  at  Ticon- 
deroga  says  of  him,  calling  him, with  a  Frenchman's 
difficulty  in  getting  hold  of  English  names,  '*  Lord 
Ho,  or  Hau"  : 

"  Abercrombie  had  with  him  a  young  nobleman 
of  great  ambition,  who  was  a  decided  favorite  with 
the  army,  and  had  succeeded  in  imparting  to  it  his 
own  brave  spirit.  He  had  come  in  April  to  recon- 
noitre the  position  of  Fort  Carillon,  and  seemed  to 
be  intrusted  with  the  direction  of  every  plan  of 
attack  in  the  campaign.  He  had  induced  all  the 
officers  to  dress  like  the  common  soldiers,  warned 
by  Braddock's  defeat,  where  the  officers  were 
picked  out  as  marks  for  the  bullets.  He  persuaded 
the  men  to  cut  their  hair  short,  and  all  were  supplied 
with  a  kind  of  gaiters  like  those  worn  by  Indians 
and  Canadians,  and  called  vtituzzes.  Their  haver- 
sacks were  rolled  in  af  blanket.  They  had  each 
thirty  pounds  of  meal,  a  pound  of  powder,  and  four 
pounds  of  balls,  besides  their  cartridge-boxes  full  ; 
an  army  thus  equipped  would  need  no  magazine  for 
a  month.  Their  canteens  were  filled  with  rum. 
Both  officers  and  men  mixed  their  own  meal  with  a 
little  water,  and  baked  it  in  cakes  by  putting  it  on  a 
f?  it  stone  under  the  ashes,  an  arrangement  which 


1758.] 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA, 


283 


answered  very  well  for  a  light  expedition.  The 
soldier  thus  found  everything  necessary  for  his  use, 
and  was  no  more  loaded  than  ordinarily.  The 
ofticers  and  men  had  only  one  shirt  apiece,  which 
was  doubtless  of  cotton  and  well  made.  Lord  Ho 
set  the  example  by  himself  washing  his  own  soiled 
shirt  and  drying  it  in  the  sun." 

It  was  probably  this  hearty  way  of  mingling  with 
the  soldiers,  and  making  the  details  of  camp  life  and 
equipment  interesting,  which,  united  to  his  brilliant 
courage  and  his  recognition  of  every  man's  value, 
inspired  the  afifection  of  the  army.  After  his  death. 
Stark  remembered  how  closely  Lord  Howe  had 
questioned  him  about  the  situation  of  Ticonderoga 
and  the  approaches  to  it,  as  he  lay  on  a  bear-skin  in 
his  tent,  that  night  at  Sabbath-Day  Point.  Massa- 
chusetts erected  a  monument  to  his  memory  in 
Westminster  Abbey. 

The  next  morning,  the  7th,  Abercrombie  took 
his  army  back  to  the  landing-place.  Bradstreet  went 
forward  with  a  detachment,  rebuilt  the  bridges,  and 
took  possession  of  the  saw-mills  near  the  second 
bridge,  about  two  miles  from  the  fort,  which  were 
in  an  advantageous  military  position.  The  army 
then  followed,  and  encamped  there  for  the  night. 

In  the  morning,  Abercrombie  sent  out  his  chief 
engineer  and  other  officers  of  the  regulars,  to  recon- 


i; 


r 


284 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


[1758. 


noitre.  They  saw  the  abatis  of  felled  trees  in  front 
of  the  lines  ;  but,  owing  to  the  thick  woods  and  the 
morass,  were  unable  to  make  very  clear  observations. 
The  engineer  and  many  of  the  officers  judged  the 
breastwork  to  be  a  very  slight  defence.  Stark 
warned  the  general  that  it  was  stronger  than  it 
looked.  But,  with  his  usual  contempt  for  provin- 
cials, he  disregarded  the  warning,  though  a  minority 
of  the  British  observers  agreed  with  Stark,  and  de- 
termined to  march  on  the  work  at  once,  without 
waiting  for  the  artillery.  He  was  farther  persuad- 
ed to  move  quickly  by  the  report  that  Montcalm 
already  had  six  thousand  men,  and  was  daily  ex- 
pecting De  Levis  with  three  thousand  more  from 
the  Mohawk.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  De  Levis  had 
already  come  in  with  his  eight  hundred  men,  and 
the  whole  force  did  not  exceed  three  thousand. 
Montcalm  was  undecided  all  the  morning  whether 
to  remain  or  retreat  to  Crown  Point,  but  at  length 
determined  to  wait  for  the  attack,  and  his  men  were 
marched  into  the  intrenchments  during  the  fore- 
noon. 

Abercrombie's  forces  were  arranged  in  three  lines. 
In  the  first  were  Bradstreet's  boatmen,  with  the 
rangers  on  one  side  and  some  companies  of  light 
infantry  on  the  other.  The  second  was  composed 
of   Massachusetts  militia.     Behind   these  were  the 


■"il 


1758]         LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDRROGA.  185 


\\, 


■\ 


.  .!■ 


regulars,  openings  being  left  in  the  t^vo  forward  lines 

for  their  advance.     The  rear  guard  was  composed 

of  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey  militia.    Abercrom- 

bie,  who  remained   far  in  the  rear,  gave  orders  that  |; 

not   a  shot   should   be   fired   until  the   breastwork 

should  be  surmounted.  ! 

At  one  o'clock  on  the  8th,  the  advance  began. 
The  regulars  marched  through  the  spaces  between 
the  companies  of  provincials,  and  led  on  the  attack, 
the  grenadier  companies  first,  followed  closely  by 
Murray's  Highlanders,  Marching  on  through  the 
underbrush  and  over  the  swampy  ground,  they 
made  a  dash  at  the  abatis,  and  then  they  realized 
the  fatal  strength  of  the  intrenchments.  The  aba- 
tis consisted  of  felled  trees,  with  sharp  branches 
pointing  outward  ;  and  the  top  was  made  still  more 
formidable  by  interwoven  branches  piled  closely 
upon  it.  Stumps  of  trees  and  rubbish  of  all  kinds 
added  to  the  obstruction,  which  extended  for  a  hun-  ^J 

dred  yards  in  front  of  a  breastwork  of  logs,  and 
sloped  gradually  downward  from  it  toward  the  as- 
sailants. 

The  French  held  back  their  fire  till  the  hapless 
regulars  were  hopelessly  entangled  among  the  sharp 
branches  and  stumps,  climbing  over  the  bogs,  and 
stumbling  among  the  rubbish.  Then  came  a  sud- 
den blaze  from  muskets  and  cannon,  and  hundreds 


H 


%. 


386 


LOUJSBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


[1758. 


df  them  were  mowed  down.  But  still  they  strug- 
gled on ;  many  of  the  Highlanders,  active  and 
lightly  equipped,  forced  their  way  to  the  breast- 
work, but  only  to  die  by  the  bayonet.  Half  of  the 
regiment  fell,  and  nearly  all  of  the  officers  were 
either  killed  or  wounded.  Fresh  troops  rushed  on, 
only  to  meet  the  same  fate  ;  their  musket-balls  fell 
harmless  against  the  defences,  while  the  merciless 
fire  from  behind  the  breastwork  had  full  play  upon 
them.  The  whole  afternoon  passed  ;  Montcalm  saw 
every  movement,  and  promptly  sent  reenforcements 
to  such  points  as  needed  them.  When  the  English 
attempted  to  turn  the  left,  aid  was  sent  to  the 
left  ;  when  they  concentrated  between  the  centre 
and  the  right,  Montcalm  was  speedily  there  with  a 
reserve.  De  Levis  and  Bourlamaque  were  equally 
vigilant  and  active. 

During  this  terrible  slaughter,  Abercrombie  was 
at  the  saw-mills,  and  there  was  apparently  no  one  to 
give  general  orders  or  withdraw  the  men  from  the 
useless  sacrifice  ;  but  it  was  at  length  ended  by  an 
accident.  Some  of  the  English,  advancing  through 
the  woods,  saw  firing  directly  in  front  of  them,  sup- 
posed it  to  come  from  the  French  lines,  and  re- 
turned it  promptly  ;  but  when  the  smoke  cleared 
away,  they  saw  that  they  had  fired  upon  an  advance 
party  of    their  own    men.      Confused   and   panic- 


u 


'U 


1758.] 


LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


287 


stricken,  they  turned  and   fled  ;  the   panic  spread, 
and  the  whole  army  was  soon  in  bewildered  flight. 

Abercrottibie  had  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded, 
nineteen  hundred  and  forty-four,  but  his  army  still 
largely  outnumbered  Montcalm's,  which  had  lost  in 
all  three  hundred  and  ninety.  It  was  in  reality  four 
times  as  large.  According  to  the  number  he  sup- 
posed Montcalm  had,  Abercrombie's  was  twice  as 
great ;  and  even  had  De  Levis  arrived  with  the  three 
thousand  men  he  was  wildly  reported  to  have,  the 
English  force  would  still  have  outnumbered  the 
French  by  three  thousand.  Yet  this  discrepancy 
was  largely  offset  by  the  carefully  prepared  intrench- 
ments. 

The  English  held  Mount  Defiance,  which  com- 
manded the  fort,  and  a  battery  there  might  have 
done  good  execution  ;  but  Abercrombie  seems  not 
to  have  had  any  idea  of  renewing  the  attack,  but 
rather  to  have  thought  only  of  putting  as  many 
miles  as  possible  between  himself  and  the  foe. 
Hardly  had  the  soldiers  reached  the  saw-mills,  and 
begun  to  rally,  after  finding  they  were  not  pursued, 
when  he  gave  orders  for  a  retreat  to  the  landing 
place.  Supposing  he  had  intelligence  of  a  pursuit 
by  the  enemy,  the  troops  broke  into  another  flight, 
while  apparently  the  general  did  not  try  to  arrest 
them,  or  restore  order.     A  French  writer  who  was 


I 


' 


288 


LOUISBOURG  AND   TICONDEROGA. 


[1758. 


at  Carillon  says  Montcalm's  men  found  more  than 
five  hundred  pairs  of  shoes  with  buckles  in  the  mud 
on  the  road  to  the  falls  the  next  day.  Arrived  at 
the  landing-place,  they  would  have  thrown  them- 
selves into  the  boats  in  the  same  confusion  ;  but 
Bradstreet  was  there  with  a  small  force  that  had 
not  yet  lost  their  heads,  and  forming  a  guard  in 
front  of  the  landing-place,  would  not  allow  a  man 
to  embark.  Order  was  restored  to  some  extent,  and 
the  troops  remained  at  the  landing  for  the  night. 
The  next  morning  they  crossed  the  lake,  to  the  site 
of  Fort  W  illiam  Henry.  Here  the  general  employed 
them  in  preparing  defences,  while  he  sent  his  artil- 
lery and  ammunition  to  Albany  for  safety,  and  even 
ordered  them  to  be  sent  on  to  New  York. 

Thus  disgracefully  ended  the  expedition  for  which 
such  elaborate  preparations  had  been  made,  and 
from  which  so  much  had  been  expected.  The  troops 
had  fought  with  unflinching  valor  for  four  hours, 
and  nothing  but  the  blunders  of  the  general  was  re- 
sponsible for  the  failure.  The  regulars  bore  the 
brunt  of  the  battle,  and  more  than  four  fifths  of  the 
loss  fell  upon  them.  The  Highlanders  lost  half 
their  number.  These  men  belonged  to  clans  which 
had  always  been  faithful  to  the  cause  of  the  Stuarts, 
and  disaffected  toward  a  government  which  they 
still  regarded  as  an  usurpation  ;  but  they  had  been 


1758]         LOUISBOURG  AND    TICONDEROGA. 


389 


formed  into  regiments  by  the  keen-sighted  policy  of 
Pitt,  and  soon  showed  themselves  to  be  among  the 
most  daring  and  effective  soiJiers  that  England 
could  bring  into  the  field.  The  Indians  brought  by 
Johnson  took  no  part  in  the  battle,  remaining  sim- 
ply as  spectators. 

A  letter  from  the  Earl  of  Bute  to  Pitt,  in  regard 
to  the  battle,  illustrates  the  value  of  the  judgment 
passed  at  home  upon  the  conduct  of  the  generals : 
"I  think  this  check,  my  dear  Pitt,"  he  wrote, 
*' affects  you  too  strongly.  The  general  and  the 
troops  have  done  their  duty,  and  appear,  by  the 
numbers  lost,  to  have  fought  with  the  greatest  in- 
trepidity, to  have  tried  all  that  men  could  do  to 
force  their  way.  The  commander  seems  broken- 
hearted at  being  forced  to  a  retreat." 


J< 


31 


it 

■§if 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

FRONTENAC  AND   DU  QUESNE. 

Skirmishes  near  Lake  Champlain — Rogers  and  Putnam — Bradstreet's 
Expedition — Capture  of  Fort  Frontenac — General  Forbes  in  Penn- 
sylvania— Grant's  Defeat— Capture  of  Fort  Du  Quesne. 

Strengthening  their  intrenchments,  and  receiv- 
ing reenforcements  of  three  thousand  Canadians  un- 
der Rigaud  de  Vaudreuil,  and  six  hundred  Indians, 
the  French  employed  the  time  after  the  battle  in 
organizing  and  sending  out  detachments  to  surprise 
parties  of  the  English,  attack  outlying  settlements^ 
and  bring  in  prisoners,  plunder,  and  scalps.  The 
thousands  of  men  lying  at  Lake  George  under  Ab- 
ercrombie  seemed  powerless  to  protect  the  coun- 
try about  them  to  the  distance  of  twenty  miles. 
On  the  17th  of  July,  a  party  of  twenty  men  was  cut 
off  near  Half- Way  Brook.  On  the  27th,  a  detach- 
ment  of  five  hundred  Canadians  and  Indians  made 
an  attack  near  the  same  place  on  a  convoy  of  fifty- 
four  wagons.  Sixteen  prisoners,  a  hundred  and  ten 
scalps,  and  a  large  amount  of  plunder  were  the 
result. 


1758.] 


FROM  TEN  AC  AND  DUQUESNB^ 


391. 


:M 


Rogers  was  sent  out  with  seven  hundred  men  to 
intercept  this  party  on  the  way  back  to  the  camp, 
but  failed  to  find  it,  and  was  then  directed  to  scour 
the  country  south  and  east  of  Lake  Champlain.  On 
the  8th  of  August,  he  was  surprised  by  a  force  un- 
der a  Canadian  officer  named  Marin,  and  a  sharp 
contest  ensued.  The  French  at  first  gained  the 
advantage  ;  but  the  bravery  of  Rogers  and  his  ran- 
gers soon  turned  the  fight  in  their  favor.  Major 
Israel  Putnam  and  twelve  or  fourteen  others,  being 
separated  from  the  rest,  were  taken  prisoners,  and 
all  but  Putnam  were  murdered.  He  was  tied  to  a 
tree  after  an  Indian  had  struck  him  in  the  cheek 
with  his  tomahawk,  and^vood  was  piled  about  him 
and  kindled  ;  but  just  then  he  was  seen  by  Marin, 
who  hurried  to  his  rescue,  took  him  from  the  hands 
of  the  savages,  and  carried  him  away  a  prisoner.  A 
few  months  afterward  he  was  exchanged. 

About  this  time  Fort  Stanwix,  afterward  a  post 
of  considerable  importance,  was  built  by  Brigadier- 
General  Stanwix,  on  the  site  of  the  present  village 
of  Rome.  It  stood  on  the  portage  between  the 
Mohawk  River  and  Wood  Creek,  the  only  spot 
where  the  water  communication  between  Schenec- 
tady and  Oswego  was  interrupted  ;  being  therefore 
on  the  highway  between  the  Hudson  and  Lake  On- 
tario, it  was  a  post  of  military  importance. 


ill  i 


,    -'A 


ig* 


PRONTENAC  AND  DU QUESNE. 


[1758. 


The  only  thing  of  consequence  accomplished  by 
any  of  the  forces  under  Abercrombie  was  due  to  the 
bravery  and  sagacity  of  Bradstreet,  who  applied  for 
permission  to  lead  a  detachment  against  Fort 
Frontenac.  He  had  cherished  for  three  years  an 
ambition  to  take  this  fort,  but  had  not  succeeded 
in  persuading  his  superiors  that  it  was  possible.  A 
council  of  war  now  unwillingly  gave  him  permission, 
and  twenty-seven  hundred  provincials  were  placed 
under  his  command.  They  were  met  at  Fort 
Stanwix  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  Iroquois,  of  whom 
forty-two,  under  the  Onondaga  chief.  Red  Head, 
joined  the  expedition.  In  attempting  to  pass  do^n 
Wood  Creek,  Bradstreet  w^s  seriously  hindered  by 
the  obstructions  that  General  Webb  had  placed 
in  it  when  he  turned  back  from  his  tardy  march  to 
Oswego,  after  its  surrender.  The  removal  of  the 
logs  from  the  river  involved  a  great  deal  of  labor. 
Having  embarked  the  artillery  and  stores,  the  army 
marched  to  Oneida  Lake,  and  thence  went  by 
water  to  Oswego,  where  the  large  wooden  cross  was 
almost  the  only  memorial  they  found  of  the  struggle 
of  two  years  before. 

Embarking  in  open  boats  at  Oswego,  they  crossed 
the  lake  and  landed  within  a  mile  of  Frontenac. 
This  fort  was  a  quadrangle,  about  one  hundred 
yards  square  ;  it  had  sixty  guns  and  sixteen  small 


1758.] 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUQUESNE. 


«93 


mortars,  thirty  of  the  guns  being  mounted,  and 
contained  a  large  quantity  of  stores,  some  of  which 
were  to  be  sent  to  Fort  Du  Quesne  and  other 
western  posts,  and  merchandise  intended  for  the 
Indian  trade.  It  was  garrisoned  by  one  hundred  and 
ten  men  under  an  officer  named  De  Noyan. 

The  commandant  was  warned  of  the  threatened 
attack,  and  sent  to  the  Governor  of  Canada  for  re- 
enforcements  ;  but  none  came  before  Bradstreet 
arrived.  A  French  writer  intimates  that  the  Govern- 
or neglected  to  send  them  on  account  of  personal 
dislike  to  the  commandant  of  the  fort.  "He  [the 
commandant]  was  a  philosopher  and  a  poet,  and 
sometimes  meddled  with  physic.  His  aim  was  to 
be  a  little  spicy,  which  had  gained  him  some  en- 
emies. Vaudreuil,  who  was  not  learned,  detested 
him,  although  under  some  obligations  to  him.  He 
was  sixty-eight  years  old,  and  infirm,  but  at  this  ad- 
vanced age  retained  all  his  spirit,  and  would  have 
done  honor  to  the  post  that  had  been  given  him,  if 
he  had  had  a  large  enough  force." 

Bradstreet  planted  a  battery  behind  an  epaule- 
ment  of  some  old  intrenchments,  and  opened  fire. 
A  breach  was  soon  made,  and  the  next  morning 
the  garrison  surrendered.  Besides  the  stores  in  the 
fort,  the  shipping  on  the  lake,  consisting  of  nine 
vessels  of  from  eight  to  eighteen  guns  each,  fell  into 


#■! 


»  5! 


I' 

-  'i 


W-  i; 

HP    : 

I'l 

i  't- 


294. 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUQUESNE, 


[1758. 


the  hands  of  the  victors.     Some  of  the  vessels  were 
heavily  laden  with  furs  of  great  value. 

Abercrombie  had  given  strict  orders  that  the  fort 
and  stores  should  be  destroyed,  although  there  was 
no  apparent  reason  why  it  could  not  have  been  j 
held,  and  accordingly  Bradstreet  destroyed  all  the 
artillery  and  stores,  and  all  of  the  vessels  but  two, 
which  he  sent  to  Oswego  with  the  most  valuable 
part  of  the  cargoes,  and  left  the  fort  in  ruins.  It 
was  afterward  restored  by  the  French. 

After  his  success  at  Louisbourg,  Amherst,  hear- 
ing of  Abercrombie's  disaster,  decided  to  go  to  New 
York  with  a  portion  of  his  army,  and  do  something 
if  possible  to  retrieve  the  defeat.  Landing  at  Bos- 
ton in  September,  with  five  battalions,  he  went  to 
Lake  George,  held  a  conference  with  Abercrombie, 
and,  leaving  the  reinforcements,  returned  to  Hali- 
fax to  await  orders  from  England. 

The  third  expedition  planned  for  the  year — that* 
against  Fort  Du  Quesne  —  was  in  command  of 
General  Forbes,  whose  force  consisted  of  twelve 
hundred  Highlanders,  three  hundred  and  fifty 
Royal  Americans,  and  nearly  five  thousand  pro- 
vincials of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  with  some 
from  South  Carolina.  The  Virginia  regiments  were 
under  the  command  of  Washington,  who  was  ordered 
to   Fort   Cumberland,  arrived    with    his  troops  on 


1758  ] 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUQUESNE. 


'95- 


the  2d  of  July,  and  at  once  began  cutting  a  road  to 
Raystown  (now  Bedford)  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
Colonel  Bouquet  was  stationed,  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  General  Forbes. 

It  was  decided  not  to  take  the  army  to  Fort  Du  \ 
Quesne  over  the  road  already  made,  which  had  been 
followed  by  Braddock's  army,  but  to  open  a  new 
one  through  Pennsylvania  from  Raystown.  Wash- 
ington strongly  opposed  the  waste  of  time  ;  but  the 
Pennsylvanians  were  determined  to  have  a  route  to 
the  west  through  their  own  territory.  Braddock's 
despatches  had  given  the  officers  of  the  Englislv 
army  an  idea  that  the  road  passed  over  by  his  men 
was  extremely  rugged  and  difficult,  abounding  in 
mountains,  ravines,  and  torrents,  so  that  the  Penn- 
sylvania traders  had  little  difficulty  in  persuading' 
them  that  it  would  be  far  better  to  take  the  pro-, 
posed  new  route,  which  was  fifty  miles  shorter,  and, 
as  they  represented,  less  obstructed. 

General  Forbes  arrived  at  Raystown  with  his 
army  in  September,  having  been  two  months  on: 
the  way  from  Philadelphia.  He  was  very  ill,  and 
was  carried  in  a  litter.  Colonel  Bouquet  was  sent 
forward  to  Loyal  Hanna  (now  Ligonier),  about 
forty-five  miles  from  Raystown,  with  a  detachment 
of  two  thousand  men,  where  he  formed  a  military 
post. 


i 


zg6 


FRO  N  TEN  AC  AND  DUQUESNE. 


[ns*. 


In  August,  intelligence  had  been  received  that  the 
French  had  only  eight  hundred  men  at  Du  Quesne, 
including  Indians.  But  now  four  hundred  more, 
under  an  officer  named  D'Aubry,  had  arrived  from 
the  west.  This  was  unknown  to  the  English,  and 
Colonel  Bouquet  resolved  to  attempt  a  brilliant 
achievement — the  capture  of  the  fort  with  his  own 
men  before  the  arrival  of  the  main  force.  Without 
the  knowledge  of  General  Forbes,  he  sent  forward 
eight  hund  d  men  under  Major  Grant,  some  of 
whom  \vere  Highlanders,  and  some  Virginia  men 
from  Washington's  force,  under  Major  Lewis, 
Washington  had  equipped  them  in  light  Indian 
hunting-dress,  for  greater  expedition  on  the  march. 

Fort  Du  Quesne  was  fifty  miles  distant  from 
Loyal  Hanna.  Grant  was  instructed  to  reconnoitre 
the  country  around  the  fort,  and  gain  all  the  in- 
formation he  could  about  the  force  of  the  enemy ; 
but  he  was  anxious,  like  his  superior,  to  seize  the 
glory  of  victory  before  Bouquet's  men  should  be 
sent  out ;  and,  moreover,  he  was  ignorant,  like  most 
of  the  British  officers,  of  Indian  modes  of  warfare^ 
and  was  confident  of  victory  if  he  could  bring  the 
French  to  an  open  battle. 

He  placed  his  men  on  a  hill  that  still  bears  his 
name,  and  sent  out  a  party  at  night  to  reconnoitre 
the  fort.     They  set  fire  to  a  log  house  near  the  wall. 


I758.J 


FRONTENAC  AND  DU QUESNE. 


w 


and  in  the  morning,  the  14th  of  September,  had  the 
drums  beaten  in  several  places.  The  French, 
through  their  scouts,  had  long  before  learned  of  his 
'  approach,  but  kept  perfectly  quiet,  even  after  Lhis 
display  of  bravado.  Grant  then  arranged  his 
regulars  in  battle  order,  leaving  Major  Lewis  behind 
with  the  provincials  to  protect  the  baggage,  and 
sent  an  engineer  with  a  guard  to  take  a  plan  of  the 
works  in  sight  of  the  fort.  Still  there  was  no  sign 
from  the  French  ;  but  just  as  Grant  began  to  think 
the  garrison  was  overcome  with  fear,  and  would  give 
up  without  striking  a  blow,  there  was  a  sudden 
sally  of  men  under  D'Aubry,  who  attacked  his 
army  in  front,  while  countless  Indians  rose  from 
ambush  on  both  sides. 

Grant  and  his  Highlanders  fought  with  great 
bravery ;  but,  as  had  happened  with  Braddock's 
men,  they  were  thrown  into  confusion  by  the  fire 
of  the  concealed  Indians.  Lewis  came  up  with  the 
greater  part  of  the  Virginians,  who  fought  cour- 
ageously, but  could  not  save  the  day.  The  Indians 
came  out  from  their  concealment  when  the  English 
ranks  were  in  hopeless  confusion,  and  fought  hand- 
to-hand  with  their  tomahawks.  Grant  and  Lewis 
were  both  taken  prisoners,  and  the  whole  force  was 
put  to  flight. 

When  Lewis  went  forward  to  the  battle  with  the 


igS^ 


FRO  N  TEN  AC  AND  DUQUESNE. 


[1758. 


main  body  of  Virginians,  he  left  Captain  Bullitt 
with  fifty  men  to  guard  the  baggage.  Now,  as  the 
panic-stricken  fugitives  fell  back,  pursued  by  the 
triumphant  savages,  Bullitt,  having  sent  the  valuable 
baggage  still  farther  back,  hastily  threw  up  a  barri- 
cade with  the  rest  of  the  wagons,  and  rallied  a  few 
of  the  flying  soldiers  behind  it.  When  the  Indians 
drew  near,  a  destructive  fire  was  opened  from  the 
barricade ;  many  fell,  and  the  rest  were  checked, 
but  moie  arrived,  and  they  advanced  to  storm  the 
barricade,  when  Bullitt  made  a  sign  of  surrender, 
and  advanced  with  his  men  until  they  were  within 
thirty  feet  of  the  enemy ;  then  they  suddenly 
lowered  their  guns  and  fired  a  volley,  and  rushed 
on  with  their  bayonets.  The  Indians,  in  their  turn, 
were  panic-stricken,  and  retreated,  giving  Bullitt  a 
chance  to  collect  the  scattered  fugitives  and  retreat 
to  Loyal  Hanna. 

This  rash  movement  cost  Bouquet  nearly  three 
hundred  meii,  of  whom  twenty-one  were  officers. 
The  conduct  of  the  Highlanders,  and  especially  of 
the  Virginians,  was  highly  applauded  and  publicly 
acknowledged  by  General  Forbes,  and  Bullitt  was 
rewarded  with  a  major's  commission. 

Forbes  reached  Loyal  Hanna  with  his  army  on  the 
5th  of  November,  when  a  council  of  war  was  held, 
and  it  was  resolved  not  to  proceed  that  year,  since 


sgaaaa 


■i 


1758.] 


FROM  TEN  AC  AND  DU  QUESNE. 


299 


the  season  was  far  advanced,  the  road  yet  lacked 
fifty  miles  of  completion,  and  the  Indians  had  de- 
serted. But  some  prisoners  who  were  taken  and 
brought  into  camp  gave  information  that  led  to 
a  change  of  plan  ;  the  garrison  was  weak  and  the 
provisions  low,  and  the  capture  of  Fort  Frontenac 
by  Bradstreet  had  cut  off  all  hope  of  supplies. 

The  heavy  baggage  was  left  behind,  and  the 
army  pushed  forward,  Washington  leading  the 
advance.  The  route  was  strewn  with  the  dead 
bodies  of  Grant's  men,  and  it  is  said  that  a  row  of 
stakes  was  found  fixed  in  the  ground,  on  each  of 
which  was  displayed  the  head  of  a  Highlander,  and 
beneath  it  his  kilts.  When  the  Scotch  regiment  saw 
this,  they  broke  into  a  low  murmur  of  rage  and  fury, 
constantly  increasing  in  volume  and  violence,  as 
they  rushed  forward,  breaking  their  ranks  and  bran- 
dishing their  claymores,  to  take  swift  and  terrible 
vengeance. 

But  vengeance  was  beyond  their  reach.  As  the 
army  marched  cautiously  on,  passing  the  bleaching 
bones  of  the  unburied  dead  who  had -fallen  three 
years  before  on  Braddock's  disastrous  field,  and  on 
the  24th  of  November  were  within  a  day's  march  of 
Fort  Du  Quesne,  they  heard  a  heavy  explosion 
from  the  direction  of  the  fort,  and  saw  smoke 
and  flames  rising  into  the  air.     The  commandant, 


.•I- 


«! 


4 


f  i  i\ 

n 


300 


FROM  TEN  AC  AND  DUQUESNE, 


[1758. 


li  ill 


having  no  hope  of  a  successful  resistance,  with  only 
five  hundred  men  and  no  provisions,  had  abandoned 
the  fort,  blown  up  the  magazine,  set  fire  to  the 
buildings,  and  had  his  men  on  the  way  down  the 
Ohio  in  boats.  The  next  day,  Washington's  troops 
marched  in  and  took  possesr'on  of  the  ruined  fort. 
The  defences  were  put  into  the  best  possible  con- 
dition, and  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  re-named  Fort 
Pitt,  in  honor  of  the  English  minister  who  had 
planned  the  campaign  for  the  year,  and  to  whose 
vigorous  measures  its  successes  had  been  largely 
due.  The  name  survives  in  that  of  the  city,  Pitts- 
burg, which  has  grown  up  around  the  spot  where 
stood  the  old  fort.  The  Indians  submitted  quietly 
to  the  new  domination,  and  the  English  had  at  last 
gained  a  foothold  west  of  the  Allegbanies. 

A  curious  story  is  told  of  the  device  of  a  High- 
lander,  Allan  Macpherson,  to  escape  torture  by  his 
Indian  captors.  He  and  several  companions  had 
been  captured  near  Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  he  had 
witnessed  the  horrible  tortures  undergone  by  some 
of  his  comrades  before  the  merciless  savages  would 
put  them  to  death.  He  told  an  interpreter  to  tell 
them  that  he  knew  how  to  make  a  medicine  from 
herbs  which  would  render  the  skin  proof  against  all 
kinds  of  weapons,  and  he  offered  to  prove  it  at  the 
risk  of  his  own   neck.     The  Indians  eagerly  con- 


I758.J 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUQUESNE. 


3-1 


sented,  and,  gathering  a  quantity  of  herbs,  he  made 
a  decoction  which  he  applied  to  his  neck  ;  then  lay- 
ing his  head  on  a  block,  he  challenged  them  to  strike. 
One  of  the  strongest  warriors  came  forward  and 
dealt  a  mighty  blow.  Not  until  they  saw  his  head 
flying  from  his  shoulders  did  the  savages  suspect 
Macpherson's  design  ;  and  it  is  said  they  were 
so  pleased  at  the  Highlander's  cunning  that  they 
remitted  the  tortures  intended  for  the  rest  of  his 
companions. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 


NIAGARA  AND   LAKE    CHAMPLAIN. 

Plan  of  Operations  for  the  Year — Weakness  of  the  French — Siege  and 
Capture  of  Fort  Niagara — Death  of  Prideaux — Western  Forts 
Occupied  by  the  English — Attack  at  Oswego — Inaction  of  General 
Gage — Amherst  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point — Operations  on 
the  Lake — Punishment  of  the  St.  Francis  Indians — Adventures  of 
Rogers. 

For  the  campaign  of  1759,  ^^e  British  Parliament 
voted  liberal  supplies  of  men  and  money,  and  the 
American  colonies,  encouraged  by  the  successes  of 
the  preceding  year,  raised  large  numbers  of  troops. 
Amherst  superseded  Abercrombie  as  commander-in- 
chief.  The  plan  for  the  year  embraced  three  expe- 
ditions :  Fort  Niagara  was  to  be  attacked  by  Pri- 
deaux, assisted  by  Sir  William  Johnson  ;  Amherst 
was  to  march  his  force  against  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point ;  and  Quebec  was  to  be  assailed  by  an 
army  under  Wolfe  and  a  fleet  under  Saunders. 
Prideaux  and  Amherst,  after  the  capture  of  the  forts, 
were  to  descend  the  St.  Lawrence,  tp':e  Montreal, 
and  join  the  army  before  Quebec. 

At   this   time   Canada  was   much  weakened  ;  its 
resources  were   nearly  exhausted,  and   the  French 


1759]        NIAGARA    AND   LAKE   CHAMPLAIN. 


303 


Government,  absorbed  with  the  war  in  Europe,  sent 
but  scanty  assistance.  The  occupation  of  Louis- 
bourg  by  the  English  rendered  it  difficult  for  ships 
to  ascend  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  a  large  amount  of 
stores  had  been  destroyed  at  Port  Frontenac,  the 
French  reverses  had  cooled  the  ardor  of  the  Indians, 
and  Canada  had  not  a  strong  reserve  force  in  its 
colonists,  as  had  the  British  provinces.  There  were 
not  over  fifteen  thousand  Canadians  able  to  bear  arms, 
and  the  French  soldiers  in  the  country  numbered 
but  little  more  than  three  thousand.  To  add  to  the 
distresses  of  the  Canadians,  they  had  been  plundered 
by  traders  and  contractors.  It  is  said  that  the  worst 
swindling  was  in  the  interest  of  a  company  which 
operated  under  the  name  of  one  of  its  agents,  Cadet. 
Having  the  contract  to  furnish  the  army  with  pro- 
visions, they  collected  all  the  worn-out  horses  in  the 
country,  and  served  them  up  to  the  starving  soldiers  ; 
and  from  this,  whenever  the  men  saw  a  jaded  skele- 
ton of  a  horse,  they  called  him  **  a  cadet." 

Vaudreuil,  the  Governor,  having  received  warning 
from  France  of  the  intentions  of  the  English,  sent  a 
small  force  to  Niagara  under  the  engineer  Pouchot, 
not  expecting  to  be  able  to  hold  the  post,  and  not 
wishing  to  sacrifice  many  men,  or  to  spare  the  troops 
from  the  more  important  points.  Pouchot  repaired 
the  defences,  and  when  the  alarm  was  given  that  the 


i 


ir 


f 


3*^4 


NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAMFIAIN,        [1759. 


English  were  near,  sent  for  men  from  Presqu'  Isle, 
Venango,  and  Detroit. 

Prideaux,  in  command  of  two  British  regiments,  a 
battalion  of  Royal  Americans,  two  battalions  from 
New  York,  and  a  train  of  artillery,  was  joined  by 
Johnson  with  a  detachment  of  Indians.  They  began 
their  march  from  Schenectady  on  the  20th  of  May, 
and,  after  a  difficult  journey,  reached  Oswego,  where 
a  detachment  under  Colonel  Haldimand  was  left  to 
take  possession  and  form  a  post,  and  the  remainder 
of  the  force  embarked  on  Lake  Ontario,  and  on  the 
1st  of  July  landed  without  opposition  about  six 
miles  east  of  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara. 

The  fort  was  on  a  narrov/  promontory  between  the 
lake  and  the  river.  Prideaux  made  preparations  to 
invest  it  by  planting  batteries  on  the  land  side, 
while  his  boats  cut  off  the  approach  by  water.  To 
a  summons  on  the  8th  to  surrender,  Pouchot 
answered  that  the  King  had  entrusted  him  with  the 
place ;  that  he  was  in  condition  to  defend  it ;  and 
that  if  General  Prideaux  were  ever  to  enter  it,  he 
should  at  least  gain  his  esteem  by  a  courageous 
defence,  before  making  any  terms  with  him. 

Prideaux  began  his  trenches  on  the  loth,  and  on 
the  nth  a  sally  was  made  from  the  fort;  '  •  ♦■  .he 
English  placed  themselves  in  line  of  battle,  l:  '.'iv- 
French    were    obliged    to    retire.      Prideaux    was 


1759]        NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAMPLAIN. 


305 


Steadily  advancing  the  work,  opening  trenches  and 
placing  batteries,  when,  on  the  19th,  he  was  killed  by 
the  bursting  of  a  shell  from  a  Coehorn  mortar  in  one 
of  the  trenches,  where  he  had  gone  to  issue  orders. 
Amherst  appointed  General  Gage  to  succeed  him, 
but  before  the  arrival  of  Gage  the  command  de- 
volved upon  General  Johnson,  who  carried  on  the 
siege  according  to  the  plans  of  Prideaux. 

On  the  23d,  Pouchot,  receiving  intelligence  that 
about  sixteen  hundred  French  and  Indians  were  on 
the  way  to  his  relief  under  D'Aubry  and  De  Lignery, 
sent  word  that  if  they  did  not  feel  strong  enough  to 
attack  the  enemy,  who  were  four  or  five  thousand 
strong,  they  should  approach  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river,  where  the  English  were  only  two  hundred 
strong,  and  could  not  easily  be  reenforced.  After 
driving  them  back,  they  could  reach  the  fort  by 
bateaux  which  would  be  sent  over  to  them. 

The  besieged  then  awaited  anxiously  t^e  approach 
of  the  reenforcement,  on  which  all  their  hopes 
depended.  The  defences  were  steadily  giving  way 
under  the  heavy  fire  from  the  batteries,  and  the 
garrison  were  picked  off  by  the  marksmen  in  the 
trenches.  Johnson  had  placed  his  main  army  above 
the  fort  to  intercept  the  approach  from  the  south. 
On  the  24th,  being  informed  by  scouts  that  the  force 
of  Frerich   and    Indians   under  D'Aubry   and    De 


},'■ 


m\ 


iiti 


3o6 


NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAM  PLAIN. 


[1759- 


iiilf 


Lignery  was  approaching,  he  detached  a  force  of 
grenadiers  and  light  infantry  and  some  Mohawks 
under  Colonel  Massey,  to  meet  them.  A  regiment 
under  Colonel  Farquhar  was  placed  midway  between 
them  and  the  fort,  ready  to  assist  the  advance,  or  go 
to  the  aid  of  the  besieged  in  the  event  of  a  sally. 

The  Mohawks  advanced  and  gave  the  signal  for  a 
parley  with  De  Lignery's  Indians  ;  but  as  it  was  not 
answered,  they  fell  back  and  took  their  station  on 
the  flanks  of  the  British  regiments.  D'Aubry  formed 
his  men,  and  gave  the  order  for  attack.  His  Ind- 
ians attempted  to  break  up  the  English  ranks  by  the 
tactics  which  had  succeeded  at  Braddock's  defeat ; 
but  the  grenadiers  scattered  them  with  a  few  volleys, 
ar  1  they  disappeared  so  suddenly  that  the  French 
believed  they  had  previously  agreed  to  desert. 

D'Aubry  led  on  his  men  to  attack  the  English 
front,  but  the  Mohawks  threw  themselves  on  the 
flanks  of  the  French  army,  and  plunged  them  into 
disorder,  while  the  English  made  an  impetuous 
charge.  The  French  fought  desperately  for  about 
half  an  hour,  when  they  were  broken  and  completely 
routed.  They  fled  through  the  woods,  and  were; 
pursued  by  the  victorious  army.  Many  were  slain, 
and  a  few  escaped  ;  the  remainder  were  captured, 
D'Aubry  and  sixteen  other  ofiicers  being  among  the 
prisoners. 


1 759-]        NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAMPLAIN, 


307 


The  firing  had  been  heard  at  the  fort  in  the 
morning,  and  the  besieged  had  anxiously  awaited 
the  event  of  the  battle  which  was  to  decide  the 
fate  of  the  fort.  At  first  the  rattle  of  musketry 
seemed  to  be  drawing  near,  and  the  beleaguered 
garrison  believed  the  English  were  driven  before  the 
relieving  force.  Then  the  noise  of  the  firing  fluctu- 
ated, sometimes  nearer  the  fort  and  again  farther 
away  and  fainter.  At  length  it  receded  rapidly,  grew 
fainter,  and  ceased.  Then  the  garrison  knew  that 
their  reinforcements  had  been  driven  back  ;  but 
how  disastrously  they  were  defeated,  they  did  not 
know  till  an  Onondaga  Indian,  who  had  asked  leave 
to  go  out  from  the  fort  to  fight  with  them,  returned 
with  great  difficu..y  through  the  lines  of  the 
besiegers  at  two  o'clock,  and  reported  that  the  sur- 
vivors had  all  been  put  to  flight,  and  every  officer 
was  either  killed  or  captured. 

At  four  o'clock  Sir  William  Johnson  sent  Major 
Harvey  to  inform  Pouchot  of  the  result  of  the 
battle,  and  ask  him  to  surrender  without  more 
bloodshed.  Pouchot  professed  to  doubt  the  report, 
and  sent  one  of  his  officers  with  Major  Harvey  to 
see  if  D'Aubry  and  his  subordinates  were  really  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  On  their  report,  the 
garrison  became  disorderly,  and  ready  to  abandon 
everything  in  confusion,  and  it  was  with  diflflculty 


m 


3o8 


NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAMP  LA  IN. 


[1759. 


that  Pouchot  restrained  them  until  the  terms  of 
capitulation  were  arranged.  They  marched  out 
with  the  honors  of  war,  on  the  25th,  and  laid  down 
their  arms  on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  They  were  in 
great  fear  of  the  Indians,  remembering  the  scene  at 
Fort  William  Henry  ;  but  Johnson  kept  his  word 
that  they  should  not  be  molested,  and  restrained 
the  savages  from  any  assault  on  the  conquered 
garrison. 

As  the  stations  beyond  Niagara  were  now  com- 
pletely cut  ofT  from  communication  with  the  east, 
and  had  given  up  a  large  part  of  their  men  to  join 
D'Aubry,  they  were  no  longer  capable  of  resistance. 
Presqu'  Isle,  Venango,  and  Le  Boeuf  were  easily 
taken  by  Colonel  Bouquet,  who  had  been  sent  to 
summon  them  to  surrender. 

Colonel  Haldimand  had  been  left  at  Oswego  with 
five  or  six  hundred  men.  They  had  not  had  time 
to  intrench  themselves  fully,  but  had  formed  a  sort 
of  wall  about  their  camp  with  the  barrels  of  pork 
and  flour  that  had  been  provided  and  stored  there 
in  great  profusion,  when  De  la  Corne  came  down 
from  La  Presentation  (Ogdensburg)  with  five  or 
six  hundred  Canadians  and  a  large  body  of  Indians, 
accompanied  by  the  zealous  Abb6  Picquet,  founder 
of  the  mission  at  that  point. 

Haldimand 's  men,   having  no   apprehension   of 


IIIHIII 


1759]        NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAM  PLAIN. 


309 


danger,  were  scattered  through  the  woods,  cutting 
trees  for  their  intrenchments,  when  they  were  fired 
upon  by  De  la  Corne's  scouts,  who  then  pressed  on 
f  to  the  camp.  What  followed  is  related  by  a  French 
writer  who  was  present : 

"  If  De  la  Come  had  followed  his  advance-guard, 
the  English  would  have  lost  everything.  But  the 
Abb6  Picquet,  who  heard  the  beginning  of  the 
firing,  thought  it  was  his  duty,  before  his  troops 
should  ?**^'ack,  to  make  a  short  exhortation  and  give 
them  absolution.  This  led  to  the  loss  of  their  op- 
portunity ;  and  the  English  ran  to  arms  and  placed 
themselves  behind  the  barrels. 

"  De  la  Corne  arrived  after  his  detachment,  who 
were  scattered  around  the  English,  but  did  not  ap- 
proach nearer,  on  account  of  their  superiority.  He 
wished  to  have  them  renew  the  attack,  but  some 
Canadians,  who  would  rather  retreat  than  fight, 
cried  out  that  the  blow  had  failed,  and,  in  spite  of 
their  ofificers,  regained  their  boats  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. The  Abbe  Picquet,  who  tried  to  rally  them, 
was  thrown  down,  when  he  caught  hold  of  one  and 
called  out,  *  Save  at  least  your  chaplain  !  '  We  sus- 
tained but  a  small  loss,  as  the  English  did  not 
pursue.  Had  this  body  been  defeated,  Niagara 
might  have  been  saved,  for  their  army  could  not 
have  received  the  troops  and  supplies." 


1 

\      \  I! 


?    ! 
11' 


iii 


310 


NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAMPLAIN. 


[I75» 


The  English  lost  only  two  killed  and  eleven 
wounded.  The  French  commandant  at  Toronto 
set  fire  to  his  buildings  and  took  his  small  garrison 
to  Montreal,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  fall  of 
Niagara. 

Fearing  the  army  from  Niagara  would  next  be 
marched  on  Montreal,  Vaudreuil  sent  De  Levis  up 
the  river  to  guard  the  approach  to  that  city  from 
the  lake.  He  took  possession  of  Oswegatchie,  or 
Ogdensburg,  tc  defend  the  passes  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, but  had  only  few  men.  Amherst  ordered 
General  Gage  to  go  and  get  possession  of  that  im- 
portant post.  But  Gage  found  difficulties  and  made 
excuses  until  the  season  was  so  far  advanced  that  it 
was  impossible.  He  had  been  appointed  to  succeed 
Prideaux,  but  Hd  not  reach  Niagara  until  after 
Johnson  had  ta  n  the  fort.  He  was  afterward, 
in  1763,  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  Brit- 
ish forces  in  America,  and  was  royal  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  when  the  Revolutionary  War  broke 
out. 

For  the  reduction  of  the  forts  at  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point,  Amherst  had  somewhat  more  than 
eleven  thousand  men.  He  began  preparations 
early  in  May  at  Albany,  preparing  boats,  gathering 
stores,  and  disciplining  the  new  recruits.  He  sent 
Major  West  with   a   detachment   to  build  a   small 


1759]        NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAMPLAIN. 


Z\\ 


Stockade  fort  between  Fort  Edward  and  Lake 
George,  and  in  June  his  army  was  slowly  moved  on 
to  encampments  near  Fort  Edward. 

On  the  2 1st  of  June,  the  general  marched  six 
thousand  troops  to  the  border  of  the  lake,  and 
traced  the  plan  of  a  fort  on  the  spot  where  Fort 
William  Henry  had  stood.  The  remainder  of  the 
troops  and  the  boats  were  now  brought  up  ;  but  the 
embarkation  did  not  take  place  until  the  2ist  of 
July  ;  but  in  the  interval,  the  sloop  Halifax  and  a 
floating  battery  of  eight  guns  which  had  been  sunk 
the  previous  year,  were  raised  from  the  lake  and 
prepared  for  service. 

The  army  moved  down  the  lake  in  four  columns, 
in  a  fleet  of  whale-boats,  bateaux,  and  artillery- 
rafts,  very  much  as  Abercrpmbie's  men  had  gone  to 
their  defeat  the  year  before,  and  left  the  boats 
nearly  opposite  the  former  landing  place.  The 
vanguard,  pushing  on  rapidly  over  the  road  to  the 
falls,  met  a  detachment  of  French  and  Indians, 
whom  they  overpowered  and  scattered  after  a  slight 
skirmish,  and  the  main  body  pressed  on  and  took  a 
position  at  the  saw-mills.  From  prisoner'^  it  was 
learned  that  Bourlamaque  commanded  .  Ticon- 
deroga  with  thirty-four  hundred  mei  Montcalm 
was  at  Quebec. 

The  next   morning,    Amherst  prepared  to  attack 


.^Hi 


M 


liiit 


m 


£;  ,  I 


■   Iff! 


'     i 


312 


NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAM  PLAIN. 


[1759. 


111! 


where  the  British  army  had  suffered  defeat  in  1758. 
But  the  French,  conscious  of  their  inability  to 
defend  the  lines  against  so  overwhelming  a  force, 
abandoned  them,  and  withdrew  into  the  fort,  while 
the  lines  were  taken  possession  of  by  the  grenadiers, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  army  encamped  in  the 
rear. 

In  the  centre  they  found  a  lofty  cross  surmounting 
a  grave,  and  on  the  cross  a  plate  of  brass  with  the 
inscription  : 

Pone  principcs  eorum  sicut  Oreh  et  Zebec  et  Zal- 
manna. 

"  Make  their  nobles  like  Oreb  and  Zebah  and 
Zalmunna;" — a  quotation  from  the  eighty-third 
psalm. 

The  French  kept  up  a  fire  through  the  23d,  which 
fell  harmless  on  the  well-protected  lines.  Bour- 
lamaque,  then,  seeing  the  uselcssncss  of  a  defence, 
silently  withdrew  most  of  his  men  in  the  night, 
leaving  four  hundred  to  keep  up  the  firing  and 
conceal  the  retreat  of  their  comrades.  During  the 
two  following  days,  they  maintained  a  vigorous  fire, 
doing  some  damage  to  the  British,  who  were  ad- 
vancing their  lines  toward  the  fort ;  then  they  too 
abandoned  the  place,  having  first  loaded  and  aimed 
the  guns,  charged  some  mines,  and  placed  a  lighted 
fuse  to  the  powder  magazine. 


1759]        NIAGARA  AND  LAKE  CHAM  PLAIN. 


313 


) 


An  explosion  and  the  light  of  the  burning  works 
assured  the  English  of  the  retreat  of  the  French,  of 
which  they  had  already  heard  from  a  deserter,  and 
Colonel  Haviland  pursued  them  down  the  lake  with 
a  few  troops,  and  took  sixteen  prisoners  and  some 
boats  laden  with  powder.  At  daybreak,  a  sergeant 
volunteered  to  enter  the  burning  fort,  and  raise  the 
English  flag  in  place  of  the  white  banner  of 
France. 

After  the  flames  were  extinguished,  Amherst, 
who  had  lost  about  seventy-five  men,  went  to  work 
to  repair  the  fortifications  and  complete  the  road 
from  the  lake.  Some  sunken  French  boats  were 
raised,  and  a  brig  was  built.  Amherst  was  slowly 
preparing  to  attack  Crown  Point,  and  sent  Rogers 
with  his  rangers  to  reconnoitre.  But  on  the  ist  of 
August  they  learned  that  the  French  had  abandoned 
that  fort  also  ;  and  on  the  i6th  that  Bourlamaque's 
men  were  encamped  on  the  Isle  aux  Noix,  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  Lake  Champlain,  command- 
ing the  entrance  to  the  Richelieu.  They  had  been 
joined  by  some  small  detachments,  and  numbered 
about  thirty-five  hundred  men. 

Amherst  spent  his  time  fortifying  Crown  Point, 
and  building  boats  and  rafts,  and  on  the  nth  of 
October  he  had  the  brig  from  Ticonderoga,  a  raft 
for  artillery,  and  a  new  sloop  ready  to  sail,  and  em- 


l< 


m 


yt\ 


■■  'i 


M    ! 


314 


NIAGARA  AND  LAKE  CHAM  PLAIN. 


[1759- 


m" 

%\:>\ 


barked  his  troops.  One  boat  with  twenty-one  men 
was  captured  ;  and  with  this  prize  the  French  ves- 
sels disappeared,  and  carefully  avoided  an  action. 
Three  of  them,  chased  by  Amherst's  vessels  under 
Captain  Loring,  were  so  hard  pressed  that  the  crews 
I  an  one  aground  and  sank  the  others.  But  a  storm 
with  contrary  winds  kept  back  the  English  vessels. 
It  was  too  late  to  descend  to  Montreal  and  go  to  the 
help  of  Wolfe  ;  the  time  for  that  had  been  passed 
in  elaborate  and  useless  preparations. 

The  repair  of  the  forts,  if  not  unnecessary,  was 
not  at  all  pressing.  It  was  not  probable  that  the 
French  with  their  exhausted  army  would  very  soon 
attempt  to  recover  the  forts  on  Lake  Champlain  ;  if 
the  English  were  to  conquer  and  keep  Canada,  they 
would  be  of  no  use  ;  if  another  campaign  had  still 
to  be  fought,  there  would  be  time  enough  to 
fortify.  The  immediate  and  pressing  need  was,  to 
sustain  Wolfe. 

Amherst  was  very  fortunate  in  his  enterprises  ;  he 
had  overwhelming  numbers  and  an  exhausted  foe, 
so  that  his  generalship  was  not  put  to  any  severe 
test.  He  was  cautious  to  excess,  slow  and  sure  in 
what  he  attempted  ;  the  trouble  was,  that  he  did 
not  attempt  enough.  With  the  help  of  the  great 
army  lying  useless  at  Lake  Champlain,  Wolfe's 
victory   might    possibly   have   been    more   speedy, 


milftlliiHli 


X759-]        NIAGARA  AND  LAKE   CHAMPLAIN. 


315 


:<   ! 


and  would  almost  certainly  have  closed  the  strug- 
gle. 

In  September,  General  Amherst  sent  Captain 
Kennedy  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  offer  peace  and 
friendship  to  the  St.  Francis  Indians,  living  at  the 
lake  of  that  name.  These  Indians  were  steadfast 
friends  of  the  French,  and  had  loiig  harassed  the 
frontier  settlements  of  New  England.  Rogers  says 
that,  to  his  own  knowledge,  they  had  killed  or  carried 
off  four  hundred  persons  within  six  years.  They 
kept  Captain  Kennedy  and  his  whole  escort  as 
prisoners,  and  sent  no  answer  to  the  message. 

Amherst  then  sent  Robert  Rogers  with  two  hun- 
dred men  to  attack  their  settlements,  with  orders 
to  take  complete  vengeance  on  the  warriors  for 
their  cowardly  attacks  on  defenceless  settlements, 
but  by  no  means  to  injure  any  women  or  children. 

St.  Francis  is  within  three  miles  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  about  midway  between  Montreal 
and  Quebec.  The  route  lay  through  an  almost  un- 
broken forest.  "  We  marched,"  says  Rogers  in  his 
journal,  "  nine  days  through  wet,  sunken  ground, 
the  v/ater  most  of  the  way  near  a  foot  deep  ;  it 
being  a  spruce  bog.  When  we  encamped  at  night, 
we  had  no  way  to  secure  ourselves  from  the  water 
but  by  cutting  the  boughs  of  trees,  and  with  them 
erecting  a  kind  of  hammocks."     It  was  twf^ity-two 


iiii! 


f! 


.1 
'i  A 


I 


i:::*ii 


3^6 


NIAGARA   AND  LA  ICE  CHAMP  LA  IN. 


[1759. 


days  before  they  came  in  sight  of  the  Indian  town, 
and  the  party  was  by  that  time  reduced  one  fourth 
through  the  hardships  and  accidents  of  the  march. 

In  the  evening,  Rogers  reconnoitred  the  town. 
The  warriors  were  holding  a  feast,  dancing,  singing, 
and  carousing.  Waiting  till  they  had  lain  down  to 
sleep,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Rogers 
marched  his  men  within  five  hundred  yards  of  the 
village,  where  they  laid  aside  their  baggage  and 
made  ready  for  the  attack. 

Just  before  sunrise  he  gave  the  order,  and  his 
men  burst  into  the  sleeping  town.  The  Indians, 
who  had  gone  to  sleep  without  placing  sentinels, 
were  completely  surprised.  Bewildered  with  their 
excesses  and  the  sudden  awakening,  they  could 
make  no  resistance.  Many  were  slain  in  their  sleep, 
'  others  struck  down  as  they  were  attempting  to  fly. 
Some  reached  the  river  and  embarked  in  canoes ; 
but  they  were  pursued,  and  the  boats  were  sunk. 
Some  concealed  themselves  in  the  cellars  and  lofts 
of  their  houses,  and  were  consumed  in  the  flames 
when  the  town  was  fired.  By  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning  the  ruin  was  complete.  All  the  houses 
were  burned  but  three,  which  were  saved  because 
they  were  stored  with  corn,  that  Rogers  needed  for 
his  men.  Two  hundred  Indians  had  been  killed, 
and  twenty  women  and  children  were  made  pris- 


■JBplm<i«F«»> 


I759-]        NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAMPLAIN. 


3^7 


■V 


oners,  of  whom  all  but  five  were  released.  Rogers 
had  lost  but  one  friendly  Indian  killed,  and  a 
captain  and  six  privates  wounded. 

He  was  now,  however,  in  a  very  dangerous 
position,  for  he  learned  that  there  was  a  party  of 
three  hundred  Frenchmen  with  some  Indians  below 
him  on  the  river,  that  his  boats  had  been  taken,  and 
that  a  smaller  force  was  lying  in  wait  for  him  farther 
up  the  stream.  There  seemed  to  be  no  way  to 
extricate  his  men  from  this  peril  except  by  following 
the  upper  branches  of  the  Connecticut,  and  de- 
scending that  river  to  Fort  Number  Four.  The 
route  was  rugged  and  difficult,  and  they  were  poorly 
supplied  with  provisions. 

They  had  marched  eight  days,  and  their  food  was 
nearly  exhausted,  when  Rogers  divided  them  into 
small  companies  to  take  different  routes  and  sus- 
tain themselves  on  the  way  as  best  they  could.  All 
were  to  meet  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ammonoosuc, 
where  provisions  were  expected  ;  but  when  Rogers's 
own  party  reached  the  place,  they  were  not  there. 
Rogers,  with  three  others,  embarked  on  a  pine  raft 
and  dropped  down  to  Fort  Number  Four,  whence 
he  speedily  sent  food  to  the  starving  men  above. 
One  party  lost  the  way,  and  was  four  days  without 
food  ;  some  died,  and  some  lost  their  reason  ;  the 
remnant,  after  devouring  their  leather  straps   and 


ii 


:  i!L 


"'fl 


fll' 


li; 


i 

ill! 


318  NIAGARA   AND  LAKE   CHAMPLAIN.        [1759. 

the  covers  of  their  cartridge-boxes,  found  a  few 
roots  that  kept  them  aHve  until  they  reached  the 
Connecticut  and  met  one  of  the  supply-boats  sent 
by  Rogers. 


■ill 


1759- 


few 

the 

sent 


ii 

i 

1 

*ill 

|i 

ff' 

H 

If 

1 

'A 

}j! 

1 

•1 

ill 

-'     . 

1  ''■ 

' 

1? 

1 

•4 

1 

r,!  1 

1  'i  p 

1 

j-il 

-      14      IB  . 

•Ml 

g 

t 

1 

I*  I'V 


I    t 


i 


r 


•y 


-^. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   SIEGE  OF  QUEBEC. 

Situation  of  the  City — Sailing  of  the  English  Fleet — Officers  and 
Forces  of  the  English — Advance  of  Durell — Mistake  of  the  French 
— First  Blow — Passage  up  the  River — Skirmish  with  Peasants — 
Attempts  to  Fire  the  Fleet — Incidents  of  the  Siege — Occupation 
of  the  East  Bank  of  the  Montmorenci  by  the  English  —  The 
Scholars'  Battle— Firing  of  the  City— Passage  of  Ships  by  the 
Town — Battle  of  Montmorenci. 

To  watch  for  and  signal  the  approach  of  the 
British  fleet  which  was  hourly  expected  at  Quebec, 
three  stations  were  chosen  by  the  French  :  the  first 
at  Isle  du  Portage,  the  second  on  a  height  near  Ka- 
mouraska,  and  the  third  on  the  Isle  of  Orleans. 

On  the  east,  and  partially  on  the  south  of  the 
promontory  on  which  the  city  is  built,  sweeps  the 
deep  and  rapid  current  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  at  the 
north  is  the  embouchure  of  the  St.  Charles,  and 
slightly  to  the  west  a  sudden  curve  of  the  same 
stream.  The  promontory  is  very  steep  along  the 
St.  Lawrence,  and  may  be  described  as  a  bluff  vary- ' 
ing  in  height  from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  three 
hundred  feet.  In  that  direction  nature  seemed  to 
have  anticipated  the  work  of  the  military  engineer. 
The  Lower  Town,  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  was  defend- 


i  % 


%. 


f 


ill  I 


¥  ■  f  ■ 


R 


^■'    ! 


I    I 


320 


ri/E  SIEGE  OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759- 


ed  by  batteries  on  the  quays ;  and  the  avenues  lead- 
ing from  the  river  were  barricaded.  The  communica- 
tion between  the  Lower  Town  and  the  Upper  Town 
was  secured  by  a  strong  picketing,  and  commanded 
by  a  battery. 

To  prevent  the  approach  of  the  enemy  from  the 
valley  of  the  St.  Charles,  it  was  determined  to  close 
the  entry  to  that  stream.  At  a  point  opposite  the 
gate  of  the  bishop's  palace,  a  boom  was.  run  across, 
consisting  of  logs  chained  together  and  kept  in  place 
by  anchors.  Above  this  boom  three  merchant  ves- 
sels were  sunk  ;  and  on  a  platform  built  upon  them 
was  placed  a  battery  of  heavy  guns,  commanding 
the  entire  bay.  In  front  of  the  boom  five  barges 
were  set,  each  armed  with  a  cannon.  On  the  left 
bank  was  placed  a  battery  of  four  guns  to  protect 
the  whole.  Farther  up,  near  the  Charlesbourg  road, 
a  bridge  of  boats  was  thrown  across  the  St.  Charles, 
and  defended  at  each  end  by  a  horn-work. 

On  the  city  side,  a  line  of  intrenchments,  with 
artillery,  ran  from  the  bridge  to  the  palace  gate. 
From  the  opposite  bank  of  the  St.  Charles,  the 
northern  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Montmorenci,  eight  miles  below,  was  intrenched 
and  at  all  accessible  points  fortified,  the  line  being 
continued  for  a  short  distance  along  the  right  bank 
of  the  Montmorenci. 


1759.] 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


321 


On  the  landward  side,  the  defence  of  the  city  was 
not  formidable,  consisting  only  of  a  rampart  of 
moderate  height,  with  neither  parapet  nor  embra- 
sures, and  unprotected  by  fosse  or  glacis.  For  nine 
miles  above  the  city,  every  apparently  accessible 
point  was  intrenched  and  guarded  ;  among  others  the 
spot  then  called  the  Anse  du  Foulon  (the  fuller's 
bay),  but  now  known  as  Wolfe's  Cove. 

There  were  gathered  for  the  defence  of  Quebec 
about  thirteen  thousand  men,  of  whom  only  six 
worn  battalions  were  French  regulars,  the  rest  being 
raw  Canadian  militia  ;  so  that  the  generous  Wolfe 
afterward  hesitated  to  call  such  a  force  an  army.  A 
council  of  war  was  held  toward  the  close  of  May, 
v.'hen  the  order  of  battle  was  issued  and  general  reg- 
ulations given  for  the  conduct  of  the  campaign. 

Vauquelin  was  made  commander  of  the  bay,  with 
authority  over  craft  of  all  kinds.  The  army  occu- 
pied its  intrenched  camp  from  the  redoubt  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  St.  Charles  to  a  point  on  the  Mont- 
morenci  above  the  great  falls.  The  right,  consist- 
ing of  the  brigades  of  Quebec  and  Three  Rivers  un- 
der St.  Ours  and  De  Borne,  forty-four  hundred  and 
twenty  men  in  all,  was  placed  along  the  plain  to  the 
river  Beauport.  The  centre  consisted  of  the  regu- 
lars, two  thousand  strong,  under  Senezergues,  and 
the  Montreal  militia,  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  strong, 


^  v- 


''■.\. 


lit 


t 


322 


TJ/£   SIEGE   OE  QUEBEC. 


[1759- 


!    % 


t'    m\  I 


under  Prudhomme,  and  was  placed  on  the  heights 
of  Beaupott.  The  brigade  of  the  Island  of  Mont- 
real, under  Herbin,  twenty-three  hundred  stronj^, 
formed  the  left,  and  was  placed  along  the  high 
ridge  down  the  St.  Lawrence.  A  reserve  force  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  cavalry,  fourteen  hundred 
volunteers  of  Canada  and  Acadia,  and  four  hundred 
and  fifty  Indians,  under  Boishebert,  stretched  down 
to  the  Montmorenci  and  along  its  right  bank.  The 
artillery  was  under  the  command  of  Mercier,  and 
the  militia  of  the  city  was  left  as  a  garrison  under 
the  king's  lieutenant,  De  Ramsay. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  the  French  commander  that 
no  attack  would  be  made  directly  on  the  town  from 
the  river  front,  but  that  an  attempt  would  be  made 
to  pierce  his  extended  lines  somewhere  between  the 
Montmorenci  and  Beauport  River,  and  possibly  be- 
tween the  latter  and  the  left  bank  of  the  St.  Charles. 
For  the  event  of  a  successful  assault  in  either  neigh- 
borhood —  and  Montcalm  was  by  no  means  over- 
confident —  lines  of  retreat  were  carefully  marked 
out,  all  arranged  with  the  general  design  of  swing- 
ing the  army  back  behind  the  St.  Charles  as  a  new 
line  of  defence,  with  the  right  on  the  city  fortifica- 
tions, and  the  left  extended  as  far  as  possible. 

That  the  authorities  were  not  sanguine,  is  clear 
from  the  final  sentence  of  their  instructions  :  "It  is 


[1759- 

he  heights 

of  Mont- 

ed  strong, 

the   high 

e  force  of  ' 
n  hundred 

r  hundred 
:hed  down 
ank.  The 
ircier,  and 
ison  under 

lander  that 
town  from 
d  be  made 
:tween  the 
ssibly  be- 
t.  Charles, 
her  neigh- 
sans  over- 
y  marked 
of  swinjT- 
as  a  new 
'  Jortifica- 
5le. 
:,   is  clear 


It  i 


IS 


1759]  THE  SIEGE  OF  QUEBEC.  333 

incumtent  on  us  to  exert  our  most  strenuous  efforts 
to  defend  and  preserve  Quebec,  or  at  least  to  retard 
the  reduction  of  it  as  long  as  possible,  because  it  is 
evident  that  the  fate  of  the  colony  will  depend 
entirely  on  that  of  its  capital." 

These  precautions  were  taken  in  good  time.  In 
the  middle  of  February,  a  powerful  squadron  set 
sail  from  England,  under  command  of  Admiral 
Saunders,  described  by  Walpole  as  "a  pattern  of 
most  sturdy  bravery  united  with  the  most  unaffected 
modesty."  With  him  sailed  General  James  Wolfe, 
chosen  to  command  the  expedition  to  Quebec.  The 
fleet  arrived  off  Louisbourg  on  the  21st  of  April, 
but  the  port  was  blocked  with  ice,  and  the  squadron 
rendezvoused  at  Halifax,  and  proceeded  to  Louis- 
bourg a  few  days  later.  The  naval  force  consisted 
of  twenty-two  ships  of  the  line,  five  frigates,  and 
nineteen  smaller,  war-vessels,  together  with  a  crowd 
of  transports,  on  which  the  land  forces  were  embarked 
on  the  1st  of  June.  These  were  divided  into  three 
brigades,  under  command  of  Generals  Monckton, 
Townshend,  and  Murray,  all  in  the  prime  of  man- 
hood, eager  for  personal  glory  and  zealous  in  the 
service  of  their  country. 

Colonel  GuyCarleton,  afterward  Lord  Dorchester, 
was  quartermaster-general,  Major  Isaac  Barre  was 
adjutant-general,    and    Richard    Montgomery    was 


tin 


324 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759- 


among  the  captains.  The  whole  military  force  is 
commonly  estimated  at  something  more  than  eight 
thousand  men,  though  some  F'rench  writers  put  its 
strength  at  eleven  thousand.  It  might  be  described 
as  a  corps  of  picked  men  ;  braver  or  better  dis- 
ciplined troops  have  seldom  embarked  in  a  more 
hazardous  enterprise,  or  been  more  ably  com- 
manded. 

Admiral  Durell  was  sent  forward  with  the  van,  in 
the  hope  that  he  would  intercept  a  squadron  of 
supply-ships  from  France,  but  was  too  late.  The 
whole  fleet  got  under  way  by  June  4th  and  joined 
Durell  on  the  23d,  at  Isle  aux  Coudres.  It  is  said 
that  as  the  vessels  of  the  latter  hove  in  sight  at  this 
point  on  their  way  up  the  river,  they  were  flying  the 
French  flag  ;  and  the  watchers  at  the  signal-stations, 
seeing  the  welcome  ensign,  despatched  hasty  ex- 
presses to  Quebec  to  announce  that  succor  was  at 
hand.  But  after  pilots  had  put  off  to  the  ships  in 
canoes,  the  white  colors  were  struck,  and  the  Union 
Jack  run  up  in  their  place,  to  the  dismay  of  the 
Canadians  along  the  shore.  A  priest  who  saw  the 
change  through  a  glass  dropped  dead  at  the  sight, 
from  the  sudden  revulsion  of  feeling.  On  the  26th 
the  squadron  anchored  off  the  Isle  of  Orleans. 

The  passage   up   the   river   had    been    unusually 
fortunate,  and  surprised  the  French  greatly,   since 


»759J 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


325 


'i,  ■  -l 


they  had  taken  pains  to  remove  the  buoys  from  the 
channel,  and  expected  that  the  heavy  ships  of  the 
line  would  run  aground  at  various  difficult  points. 
The  rapidity  of  the  passage  was  long  explained  by  ^ 
the  fact  that  charts  of  the  St.  Lawrence  had  been 
found  in  one  of  two  French  vessels  captured  by 
Admiral  Durell  near  the  mouth  of  the  river ;  but 
French  authorities  assert  that  a  certain  Denis  de 
Vitr6,  captain  of  a  French  frigate  taken  during  the 
war,  consented  to  pilot  the  fleet  to  Quebec  for  a 
commission  in  the  British  navy. 

During  the  night  of  the  26th  forty  rangers  landed 
on  the  island,  and,  pushing  cautiously  into  the 
interior,  came  upon  a  party  of  armed  peasants,  en- 
gaged in  burying  their  valuables.  There  was  a 
hasty  skirmish,  in  which  both  parties  were  badly 
frightened  ;  a  fight  in  the  woods  at  midnight 
between  a  band  of  marauders  and  a  party  of  men 
concealing  their  treasures  being  by  no  means  a 
cheerful  kind  of  encounter. 

The  next  da}^  troops  were  landed,  debarking  at  a 
cove  under  the  Church  of  St.  Lawrence,  on  the 
walls  of  which  was  a  placard  asking  ''the  worthy 
officers  of  the  British  army"  that  the  place  might 
be  spared.  Wolfe  probably  pushed  on  at  once  to 
the  point  of  the  island  nearest  Quebec. 

Above  the  island,   and  nearly  opposite  the  city, 


f ' 


I    ; 


326 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC.    ' 


[1759- 


t- 


lay  Point  Levi,  the  only  unprotected  spot  within 
easy  reach  of  the  invaders.  Montcalm  had  urged 
,  in  the  council  of  war  that  it  should  be  fortified  and 
i^arrisoned  with  four  thousand  troops,  but  his 
opinion  was  overruled  by  the  Governor-General. 
Wolfe  instantly  chose  it  as  an  available  point  from 
which  to  attack  Quebec,  though  it  was  said  to  be 
held  by  a  strong  detachment,  and  he  also  selected  the 
spot  on  which  he  stood  as' the  site  of  fortifications 
to  cover  the  hospitals  and  army-stores,  which  might 
find  perfect  secu'-'ty  in  that  beautiful  island  with  the 
fleet  at  anchor  in  front. 

The  day  had  been  stormy,  but  the  evening  came 
on  clear  though  dark  ;  and  the  French  chose  it  for 
their  first  attempt  to  burn  the  English  fleet.  They 
put  fire-ships  afloat  with  the  ebbing  tide,  each 
laden  with  grenades,  shells,  useless  muskets  loaded 
to  the  muzzle,  and  tar-barrels.  As  they  were  swept 
in  the  direction  of  the  transports,  the  flames  broke 
out  among  them  and  spread  rapidly  and  fiercely,  to 
the  accompaniment  of  a  random  fusillade.  A  panic 
arose  among  the  soldiers  on  the  beach,  for  the 
unaccustomed  character  of  the  danger  terrified 
them  ;  but  the  sailors  were  cool,  and  ready  with  a 
remedy.  Well-manned  boats  set  out,  and,  after 
waiting  for  the  subsidence  of  the  irregular  firing, 
pushed  on  and  grappled  the  fire-ships,  turning  them 


Li759- 


1750] 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


327 


ashoce,  where   they   burned  harmlessly  away,  and 
served  as  a  cheerful  illumination  to  the  warlike  scene. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th,  Wolfe  issued  a 
proclamation  to  the  inhabitants  of  Canada.  He 
set  forth  the  determination  of  the  English  king 
to  deprive  France  of  her  American  settlements ; 
enumerated  the  advantages  of  Great  Britain  in  the 
struggle  ;  alluded  to  the  cruelties  prr.ctised  by  the 
French  on  the  English  colonies,  as  justifying  severe 
reprisals,  but  promised  the  most  considerate  treat- 
ment if  the  Canadians  would  accept  the  protection 
of  England,  and  abandon  France,  which  had  practi- 
cally abandoned  them.  Speaking  in  the  name  of  his 
master,  he  said  :  "It  is  not  against  the  industrious 
peasants,  their  wives  and  children,  nor  against  the 
ministers  of  religion,  that  he  designs  making  war. 
He  laments  the  misfortunes  to  which  this  quarrel 
exposes  them,  and  promises  them  his  protection, 
offers  to  maintain  them  in  their  possessions  and 
permit  them  to  follow  the  worship  of  their  religion, 
provided  that  they  do  not  take  any  part  in  the 
differences  between  the  two  crowns,  directly  or 
indirectly." 

Of  course  all  these  fair  promises  were  worthless, 
for  the  conditions  on  which  they  were  made 
were  not  such  as  the  Canadians  were  very 
likely  to  comply  with.     As  a  natural  consequence, 


ill  y 


I*'  !' 


328 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC, 


[1759. 


\   { 


the  struggle  was  destine-^  to  degenerate  into  a  cruel 
and  bloody  one  at  all  points  save  the  regular  field  of 
battle,  where  it  was  bloody  without  being  unneces- 
sarily  cruel. 

On  the  night  of  the  29th  of  June,  Monckton,  to 
whom  the  movement  against  Point  Levi  was  en- 
trusted, sent  over  a  detachment  which  took  pos- 
session of  Beaumont  Church  and  barricaded  it. 
Early  in  the  morning  more  men  passed  over,  and 
before  evening  the  British  troops  had  possession 
of  the  pretty  village  of  Point  Levi.  The  opposition 
amounted  to  nothing  more  than  skirmishing,  as  the 
force  in  possession  of  the  position  was  neither  strong 
enough  nor  skilful  enough  to  make  an  obstinate 
defence,  though  the  nature  of  the  ground  was 
favorable  to  it. 

During  the  morning  occurred  one  of  those  trage- 
dies that  exhibit  the  brutality  of  war.  A  party  of 
rangers  had  pushed  forward  from  Beaumont  Church 
to  reconnoitre,  and  had  taken  possession  of  a  large 
and  fine,  but  apparently  deserted,  farm-house.  The 
soldiers  heard  the  sound  of  voices,  and,  after  a  hasty 
search,  set  fire  to  the  buildings  and  fell  back,  but 
were  recalled  by  the  shrieks  of  women  and  children 
who  had  hidden  in  the  cellar  and  were  perishing  in 
the  flames.  We  are  told  that  they  worked  gallantly 
though  ineffectively  to  rescue  their  victims,  and  it 


LI759. 


1759  J 


7J/£   SIEGE   Of  QUEBEC. 


329 


would  be  pleasant  to  believe  the  best  ;  but  so  many- 
strange  things  happened  during  the  campaign  that 
the  historian  grows  weary  of  trying  to  explain  away 
atrocities. 

On  the  morning  of  July  ist,  the  French  pushed 
over  their  floating  batteries  to  attack  the  post  at 
Point  Levi,  but  the  frigate  Trent  interposed,  and 
easily  drove  them  off.  Monckton's  and  Townshend's 
men  were  set  at  work  on  the  heights  opposite  Que- 
bec and  on  the  western  end  of  the  island,  raising 
fortifications  and  planting  batteries  ;  and  by  the  9th 
everything  was  ready  for  action  at  those  places. 

In  the  mean  while,  scouting  and  skirmishing  went 
on  constantly.  Major  Scott  pushed  up  along  the 
right  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence  as  far  as  the  Chau- 
di^re,  but  to  no  purpose.  On  one  occasion,  about 
twenty  of  the  command,  under  a  lieutenant,  coming 
across  a  man  and  his  three  sons  in  a  log  hut,  drag- 
ged them  off  out  of  pure  wantonness,  though  two  of 
the  boys  were  mere  children.  The  man  and  the 
oldest  boy,  a  lad  of  fifteen,  went  quietly  enough, 
but  the  frightened  children  screamed  convulsive- 
ly ;  and  the  scouting-party  grew  alarmed  lest  the 
screams  should  attract  pursuit.  It  is  said  that  they 
actually  saw  a  band  of  Indians  on  their  trail  and 
heard  the  war-whoop  ringing  through  the  woods. 
They  endeavored  to  calm  the  children,  but  the  poor 


1:1, 


. 


330 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759 


Sn 


5;  '     ■      a    t- 


things  screamed  the  louder  ;  then  they  tried  to  cast 
them  off  in  the  woods,  but  they  clung  to  their  captors 
all  the  tighter  ;  and,  as  a  last  resource,  to  silence 
their  hysterical  sobs,  the  soldiers  murdered  them. 

With  his  supplies  in  safety  and  a  point  secured 
from  which  an  active  bombardment  could  be  main- 
tained against  the  city,  Wolfe  began  his  first  effort 
to  break  the  enemy's  lines.  Under  cover  of  the 
fleet,  which  swung  into  place  on  the  9th  of  July, 
and  commanded  the  French  position  along  the  river 
below  the  city,  Wolfe  moved  the  bulk  of  his  army, 
under  Townshend  and  Murray,  to  the  north  bank  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Mont- 
morenci.  The  east  or  left  bank  of  this  stream  is 
higher  than  the  opposite  one  ;  and  along  these 
heights  the  British  troops  encamped,  facing  the 
left  of  the  French  line,  with  nothing  but  the  river 
intervening.  Artillery  was  placed  in  position,  and 
the  men  were  ordered  to  intrench. 

On  the  morning  of  the  lotli,  Captain  Bank's  com- 
pany of  rangers,  which  had  been  sent  into  the 
woods  to  protect  men  engaged  in  making  fascines, 
was  suddenly  attacked  by  Indians,  and  nearly  de- 
stroyed. The  action  took  place  so  close  to  the  lines 
that  the  men  who  rushed  to  the  rescue  could  actually 
see  the  savages  scalping  their  dead  comrades  and 
murdering  the  wounded. 


I759-] 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


331 


Wolfe  reconnoitred  the  Montmorenci  upward  in 
the  hope  of  finding  a  crossing  that  he  might  force, 
and  so  turn  the  left  of  the  French  position,  but 
without  success.  There  were  two  Indian  attacks  on 
the  reconnoitring  party,  but  they  were  easily  re- 
pulsed, though  not  without  the  loss  of  forty  ofificers 
and  men. 

It  was  found  that  the  only  pathway  to  the  French 
lines  on  the  Montmorenci  side  lay  through  the  ford 
below  the  falls,  which  was  practicable  at  low  tide, 
and  might  be  covered  by  the  fire  of  the  batteries  on 
the  heights  above,  and  of  such  light-draught  vessels 
as  coujd  get  close  to  the  shore.  The  prospect  for 
an  attack  at  this  point  was  so  unpromising,  that 
Wolfe  waited  until  he  should  have  studied  other 
points  before  he  determined  to  strike  there.  It  is 
said  that  Montcalm,  when  urged  by  De  Levis  to  at- 
tempt to  dislodge  his  enemy,  remarked  :  "  While 
there,  he  cannot  hurt  us.     Let  him  amuse  himself." 

Meanwhile,  on  the  night  of  the  1 2th  of  July,  a  body 
of  sixteen  hundred  French,  under  Dumas,  crossed 
the  St.  Lawrence  above  the  city  and  set  out  for 
Point  Levi,  doubtless  with  the  expectation  of  find- 
ing it  held  by  a  weak  force.  The  French  marched 
in  two  columns,  and,  in  the  excitement  of  the  night 
movement,  the  rear  body  mistook  that  in  front  for 
the  enemy,  and  poured  a  volley  into  it,  which  was 


rl: 


! 


333 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759. 


promptly  returned.  There  was  an  instant  panic, 
and  both  parties  set  off  in  the  wildest  disorder  for 
the  boats,  reaching  the  beach  in  time  to  recross  the 
river  early  in  the  morning  of  the  13th,  with  a  loss  of 
seventy  killed  and  wounded.  Wolfe  regretted  that 
they  got  away  without  making  an  attack  and  giving 
him  an  opportunity  to  defeat  them.  This  affair  is 
known  among  Canadians  as  "  The  Scholars'  Battle," 
because  the  firing  was  begun  by  some  of  the  boys 
from  the  city  schools,  who  were  in  the  ranks. 

A  lively  bombardment  of  the  city  followed,  which 
was  especially  effective  from  the  Point  Levi  batteries, 
and  on  the  i6th  the  town  was  set  on  fire.  "Phe  fir- 
ing was  renewed  at  intervals,  and  four  times  the  city 
was  in  flames.  To  sum  up  at  once  the  results  of 
weeks  of  cannonading,  it  may  be  said,  in  the  words 
of  Wolfe  himself,  that  the  Upper  Town  was  consid- 
erably damaged,  and  the  Lower  Town  entirely  de- 
stroyed. The  destruction  fell  heaviest  upon  the 
church  and  private  individuals  ;  the  cathedral  and 
most  of  the  finest  residences  were  in  ruins  within  a 
month.  Of  course  all  this  was  useless,  except  in  so 
far  as  it  kept  up  the  appearance  of  ac^^ivity  on  the 
part  of  the  besiegers.  It  did  not  at  all  affect  the 
military  strength  of  the  place. 

On  the  night  of  the  i8th  of  July  occurred  one  of 
the  most  significant  events  of  the  expedition.     Two 


1759.] 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


333 


Ni(f 


men-of-war,  two  armed  sloops,  and  two  transports 
filled  with  troops,  the  whole  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Rous,  ran  up  the  river  past  the  town,  escap- 
ing without  injury,  as  the  French  failed  to  notice 
them  in  time  to  bring  their  guns  to  bear  ;  and  the 
next  day  two  hapless  sentinels  who  were  held  re- 
sponsible were  hanged  in  sight  of  both  armies.  A 
battery  in  position  at  Sillery  dropped  a  few  shots 
among  the  English  vessels  and  made  them  move  on 
up  the  river,  and  the  gunners  of  the  city,  grown  un- 
usually vigilant,  struck  the  mast  out  of  Wolfe's 
barge,  which  was  skirting  the  southern  shore  to  join 
the  ships  that  had  run  the  gauntlet. 

The  passage  of  the  forts  opened  up  the  whole 
river,  and  rendered  the  English  masters  of  the 
stream  above  and  below.  But  the  first  fruits  of  the 
achievement  were  not  promising.  "  This  enabled 
me,"  said  Wolfe  in  his  report  to  Pitt,  "to  recon- 
noitre the  country  above,  where  I  found  the  same 
attention  on  the  enemy's  side,  and  great  difficulties 
on  ours,  arising  from  the  nature  of  the  ground,  and 
the  obstacles  to  our  communication  with  the  fleet. 
But  what  I  feared  most  was,  that  if  he  should  land 
between  the  town  and  the  River  Cape  Rouge,  the 
body  first  landed  could  not  be  reenforced  before  they 
were  attacked  by  the  enemy's  whole  army." 

He   thought    of    landing    three  miles  above   the 


ini 


334 


THE   SIEGE  OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759. 


town,  but  the  enemy  brought  cannon  and  a  mortar  to 
play  on  the  shipping.  ' '  And, ' '  to  use  his  own  words, 
"as  it  must  have  been  many  hours  before  we  could 
attack  them — even  supposing  a  favorable  night  for 
the  boats  to  pass  by  the  town  unhurt — it  seemed  so 
hazardous  that  I  thought  best  to  desist." 

Merely  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  enemy, 
Wolfe  sent  Colonel  Carleton  up  the  river  with  the 
troops  that  had  already  passed  the  town.  On  the 
22d  he  landed  at  Point  aux  Trembles,  dispersed  a 
party  of  Indians,  captured  a  few  civilians,  and  pro- 
cured correspondence,  which  plainly  showed  that 
the  people  in  Quebec  were  hungry  and  disheartened, 
and  almost  as  disgusted  with  the  defence  as  the 
English  were  with  the  attack. 

Wolfe  returned  to  the  position  on  the  Mont- 
morenci  after  his  trip  above  the  town,  convinced 
that  he  would  have  to  make  an  attempt  to  break 
into  Montcalm's  intrenched  camp  somewhere  be- 
tween the  St.  Charles  and  the  Montmorenci.  "  I 
now  resolved,"  he  says,  to  take  the  first  opportu- 
nity which  presented  itself  of  attacking  the  enemy, 
though  posted  to  great  advantage  and  everywhere 
prepared  cO  receive  us."  If  he  was  somewhat 
daunted  at  the  prospect,  it  is  probable  that  there 
was  much  discontent  and  discouragement  through- 
out the  expedition.     Indeed,  there  are  extant  let- 


^ 


T 


»759.] 


THE    SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


335 


^y' 


ters  written  to  the  Governor  of  Nova  Scotia  by  a 
minister  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  express- 
ing the  greatest  contempt  for  the  capacity  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  repeating  the  criticisms  on 
his  conduct  which  were  current  on  shipboard. 

But  the  young  general  was  not  the  man  to  give 
up  an  enterprise  merely  because  it  looked  desperate. 
On  the  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Montmorenci,  was  a  detached  redoubt,  ap- 
parently out  of  reach  of  musketry  from  the  hill, 
and  Wolfe  determined  to  make  this  the  key  of  an 
attack.  His  design  was  to  seize  it  ;  then,  if  the 
French  disputed  its  possession,  a  general  engage- 
ment would  be  brought  on,  which  was  what  he 
aimed  at.  If  they  gave  it  up  without  a  struggle,  it 
might  afford  a  point  from  which  to  reconnoitre  their 
lines  in  security. 

As  the  water  shoaled  along  the  northern  shore  so 
that  the  men-of-war  could  not  get  into  position  to 
bring  their  guns  to  bear,  the  admiral  armed  two 
light-draught  transports  which  might  be  run  aground 
to  cover  a  descent  on  the  redoubt,  and  the  frigate 
Centurion  was  brought  close  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Montmorenci  to  cover  the  ford  below  the  falls. 
The  artillery  on  the  height  along  the  left  bank  of 
that  stream  was  placed  in  position  to  enfilade  the 
left  of  the  enemy's  intl^enchments. 


( 


'1^ 


i   i 


336 


TNE   SIEGE  OF  QUEBEC. 


[«759' 


The  plan  of  action  was,  to  put  a  part  of  Monck- 
ton's  brigade  from  Point  Levi,  and  the  grenadiers  of 
the  army,  on  the  boats,  and  make  a  dash  for  the  re- 
doubt ;  while  the  brigades  of  Townshend  and  Mur- 
ray were  to  be  ready  to  march  from  their  camp  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Montmorenci,  and  cross  the 
ford  in  support  of  their  comrades. 

At  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  July  31st,  the 
15th  and  78th  regiments  of  Monckton's  brigade, 
thirteen  companies  of  grenadiers,  and  two  hundred 
Royal  Americans,  embarked  in  small  boats,  and  the 
flotilla  moved  into  the  northern  channel  of  the  St. 
Lawrence.  The  two  armed  transports,  Wolfe  being 
on  one  of  them,  were  run  aground  at  about  eleven 
o'clock  ;  and  the  cannon  from  those  vessels,  from 
the  Centurion,  and  from  all  the  fleet,  from  the  heights 
of  Montmorenci  and  from  Point  Levi,  opened  fire, 
every  available  gun  in  the  circle  of  the  British  posi- 
tion about  Quebec  joining  in  the  chorus. 

Close  inspection  showed  Wolfe  that  the  detached 
redoubt  was  really  covered  by  fire  from  the  French 
lines,  and  that  musketry  from  the  grounded  vessels 
would  be  of  no  avail  in  helping  the  attack.  This 
was  a  disappointment ;  but  he  was  not  to  be  divert- 
ed from  his  purpose.  Some  delay  was  occasioned 
by  a  feint  on  the  left  of  the  French  line,  which 
looked  like  a  movement  to  cross  the  Montmorenci 


»759.] 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC 


337 


above  the  falls,  and  make  a  counter  attack  ;  but 
this  was  checked  by  a  display  of  the  48th  regiment 
in  motion  beyond  Point  Levi,  which  caused  Mont- 
calm to  send  two  battalions  to  guard  against  a  cross- 
ing above  the  town. 

It  was  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  Wolfe 
signalled  for  a  renewal  of  the  cannonade,  and  at  five 
he  ran  up  a  red  flag  at  the  mizzen  peak  of  one  of  the 
stranded  transports,  as  the  sign  to  advance.  The 
flotilla  dashed  forward  with  a  will,  and  the  troops 
of  Townshend  and  Murray  set  out  for  the  ford. 
The  French  met  the  advance  of  the  boats  with  a 
lively  shower  of  shot  and  shell,  which,  however,  did 
little  damage  ;  but  the  advance  was  checked  by  a 
reef  running  out  from  the  shore,  on  which  many  of 
the  small  craft  ran  aground  ;  and,  as  a  consequence, 
the  whole  flotilla  of  fifteen  hundred  boats  was 
thrown  into  confusion. 

Order  was  soon  restored,  and  the  general  and  sev- 
eral naval  officers  took  a  flat-bottomed  boat,  and  ex- 
amined the  shore  for  a  landing-place,  signalling  in 
,  the  mean  time  for  Townshend  to  halt.  An  opening 
in  the  reef  was  found  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour, 
and  the  flotilla  was  put  in  motion  once  more.  The 
grenadiers  and  Royal  Americans  were  first  on 
shore.  The  orders  were  for  the  grenadiers  to  form 
in  four  divisions,  wait  for  the  landing  of  Monckton's 


■*,';i 


111 


m 


If 


338 


THE    SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759. 


,.4 


.'«. 


^\ 

91 

»« 

M   M 

^ 

i  i 

'.i 

! 

■ 

t- 

%' 

\ 

y  aHH 

--■#- 

l^H 

^ 

l^M^ 

lB 

troops  and  the  approach   of  Townshend   to  within 
supporting  distance,  and  then  attack. 

But  they  attacked  without  waiting  or  forming — 
"ran  on,"  to  use  Wolfe's  words,  "toward  the 
enemy's  intrenchments  in  the  utmost  disorder  and 
confusion."  This  excess  of  valor  and  lack  of  steadi- 
ness was  fatal.  The  French  had  abandoned  the  de- 
tached redoubt,  and  the  mass  of  grenadiers  pushed 
boldly  up  the  slope  at  the  intrenchments.  It  was 
an  assault  which  would  have  been  useless,  even 
if  successful,  as  Monckton  had  not  landed,  and 
Townshend  and  Murray  were  not  within  reach  ;  but 
it  was  not  destined  to  succeed.  The  Canadians  re- 
ceived the  grenadiers  with  a  close  and  effective  fire, 
which  not  only  checked  their  advance,  but  drove 
them  back  in  dismay,  leaving  some  scores  of  scarlet- 
clad  bodies  along  the  green  hill-side. 

The  grenadiers  sought  shelter  behind  the  aban- 
doned redoubt,  while  their  officers  exposed  them- 
selves to  no  purpose,  in  the  endeavor  to  re-form 
them  under  fire.  "  I  saw,"  says  Wolfe,  "  the 
absolute  necessity  of  calling  them  off,  that  they 
might  form  themselves  behind  Brigadier  Monck- 
ton's  corps,  which  was  now  landed  and  drawn  up  on 
the  beach  in  extreme  good  order." 

Not  only  were  the  grenadiers  withdrawn,  but  it 
was  resolved  to  abandon  the  attack.     It  was  grow- 


1759] 


THE   SIEGE   OF  QUEBEC. 


339 


ing  late  in  the  evening,  the  state  of  the  tide  was 
such  that  the  Hne  of  retreat  by  the  ford  would  be 
cut  off  in  case  of  disaster,  and  a  storm  which  had 
been  threatening  for  some  time  broke  in  fury.  But 
these  were,  perhaps,  the  mere  pretexts  for  a  re- 
treat. The  main  reason  was,  the  rapid  repulse  of 
the  picked  troops  of  the  army,  who  were  beaten 
without  getting  an  opportunity  to  fight. 

The  French  made  no  attempt  to  interrupt  the 
movement,  as  Monckton's  men  reembarked,  and 
Townshend  withdrew,  but  "  some  of  their  savages," 
says  Wolfe,  "  came  down  to  murder  such  wounded 
as  could  t  t  be  brought  off,  and  to  scalp  the  dead, 
as  their  custom  is." 

Wolfe  lo  t  in  this  affair  thirty-three  officers  and 
four  hundred  and  ten  men,  killed  or  wounded.  In 
his  honest  and  straightforward  account,  he  argues 
that  the  place  chosen  for  the  attack  was  well  covered 
by  British  artillery,  and  afforded  opportunity  for 
the  employment  of  all  the  troops  at  once,  and  the 
line  of  retreat,  in  case  of  repulse,  was  secure.  The 
disadvantages  were  no  less  marked.  "  The  beach 
upon  which  the  troops  were  drawn  up  was,"  he 
said.  "  of  deep  mud  with  holes,  and  cut  by  several 
gullies,  the  hill  to  be  ascended  very  steep  and  not 
everywhere  practicable,  the  enemy  remaining  in 
their  intrenchments,  and  their  fire  hot.     If  the  at- 


340 


THE  SIEGE  OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759. 


tack  h?.d  succeeded,  our  loss  must  certainly  have 
been  great  and  theirs  inconsiderable,  from  the  shelter 
which  the  neighboring  woods  afforded  them.  The 
River  St.  Charles  still  remained  to  be  passed  before 
the  town  was  invested.  All  these  circumstances  I 
considered  ;  but  the  desire  to  act  in  conformity  with 
the  King's  instructions  induced  me  to  make  this 
trial,  persuaded  that  a  victorious  army  finds  no  diffi- 
culties."  In  a  general  order,  the  commander  re- 
buked the  grenadiers  sharply  for  their  undisciplined 
enthusiasm. 


f 


tmaam 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC. 

Attacks  of  the  French  on  Scouting  Parties — Reprisals  by  the  English 
— Attempt  by  Murray — Illness  of  Wolfe — Townshend's  Plan — 
Wolfe's  Opinion  of  it — Montcalm's  Prediction — Transfer  of  the 
Army — The  Anse  du  Foulon,  or  Wolfe's  Cove— Landing  and 
Ascent  of  the  Troops — Diversion  at  Beauport — Position  on  the 
Plains  of  Abraham — Arrival  of  Montcalm — Arrangement  and 
Numbers  of  the  Troops — The  Battle  of  the  Plains  of  Abraham — 
Rout  of  the  French — Death  of  Wolfe — Death  of  Montcahu. 

Notwithstanding  Wolfe's  proclamation  en- 
joining neutrality  upon  the  Canadians,  they  with- 
stood the  depredations  of  the  soldiery,  and  in  some 
instances  joined  with  the  Indians  in  murdering  and 
scalping  scouting-parties.  A  protest  from  Wolfe  to 
Montcalm  brought  the  usual  answer  that  the  French 
officers  could  not  control  their  wild  auxiliaries — the 
same  answer  that  in  after-years  the  British  them- 
selves used  to  make  when  American  commanders 
complained  of  Indian  atrocities.  As  a  curious  meas- 
ure of  retaliation,  the  English  troops  were  allowed 
to  scalp  all  Indians,  and  Canadians  fighting  disguised 
as  Indians,  which  was  practically  only  an  exemption 
of  the  regular  troops.  The  foraging  parties  had 
been  ordered  to  burn  and  lay  waste  the  country, 


y. 


343 


THE   CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759. 


Sparing  nothing  but  churches,  but  molesting  women 
and  children  "  on  no  account  whatsoever." 

On  the  28th  of  July,  when  the  French  renewed 
their  attempt  to  burn  the  English  fleet  by  casting 
loose  a  huge  fire-raft  of  light  vessels  bound  togeth-  - 
er,  Wolfe  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  garrison  with 
this  message  :  "  If  the  enemy  presume  to  send  down 
any  more  hre-rafts,  they  are  to  be  made  fast  to  two 
particular  transports,  in  which  are  all  the  Canadian 
and  other  prisoners,  in  order  that  they  may  perish 
by  their  own  base  inventions." 

The  defeat  at  Montmorenci  tended  to  increase 
the  existing  irritation.  The  whole  of  August  was 
spent  in  mere  raiding.  It  was  estimated,  by  one 
who  took  part  in  the  devastation,  that  fourteen  hun- 
dred farm-houses  were  burned  and  their  orchards 
ruined.  An  expedition  agai  1st  St.  Paul's  Bay  en- 
countered some  resistance,  but  succeeded  in  burning 
several  pretty  villages.  The  Louisbourg  grenadiers, 
coming  across  a  priest  who  had  thrown  himself  into 
a  house  with  a  party  of  his  parishioners,  drew  them 
out  by  a  stratagem,  and  then  killed  and  scalped 
thirty-one  of  thern. 

The  only  serious  bit  of  campaigning  that  relieved 
this  petty  marauding  was  the  expedition  of  General 
Murray  up  the  river.  He  set  out  with  twelve  hun- 
dred men  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  Admiral  Holmes 


1759-] 


THE   CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC. 


343 


in  an  attempt  to  destroy  the  French  ships  above  the 
town,  and  to  open  communication  with  Amherst  ; 
but  they  escaped  him  by  lightening  and  running  into 
shallows,  jut  of  the  way. 

Murray  found  the  north  shore  carefully  watched  at 
all  points,  and  was  beaten  off  twice  in  attempting  to 
land.  The  third  time  he  got  a  foothold  at  Uecham- 
bault,  burned  a  magazine,  captured  a  few  prisoners, 
and  discovered,  by  letters  which  fell  into  his  hands, 
that  Johnson  had  captured  Niagara,  and  that  Am- 
herst was  in  possession  of  Crown  Point.  He  then 
returned  without  having  accomplished  anything  of 
importance. 

During  August,  Wolfe,  never  in  robust  health, 
was  stricken  with  a  fever.  As  soon  as  he  began  to 
recover,  he  called  together  his  brigadiers,  and  di- 
rected them  to  take  into  consideration  the  prob- 
lem of  the  siege.  He  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
town  would  surrender  if  the  French  army  were  de- 
feated ;  that  the  army,  and  not  the  town,  should  be 
attacked  ;  and  submitted  three  plans,  all  looking 
toward  an  attempt  to  carry  the  intrenched  camp  at 
some  point  between  the  St.  Charles  and  the  Mont- 
morenci. 

But  General  Townshend  proposed  an  alternative 
which  met  the  approval  of  his  associates,  was  finally 
adopted  by  the  commander-in-chief,  and  resulted  in 


If  ■ 


344 


THE   CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC, 


[1759. 


•    t 


(i 


the  capture  of  Quebec.  In  support  of  the  idea  of 
getting  a  position  on  the  heights  of  Abraham,  he 
said  :  "  If  we  can  maintain  a  new  position  on  that 
side,  we  shall  force  Montcalm  to  fight  where  we 
choose  ;  we  shall  then  be  not  only  situated  between 
him  and  his  magazines,  but  also  between  his  camp 
and  the  forces  opposed  to  Amherst.  If  he  offer  us 
battle  and  he  should  lose  the  day,  then  Quebec,  prob- 
ably all  Canada,  would  fall  into  our  hands,  a  result 
far  greater  than  could  occur  from  a  victory  at  Beau- 
port  ;  and,  again,  if  he  cross  the  River  St.  Charles 
with  forces  enough  to  confront  us  ''n  the  position 
we  have  supposed,  the  Beauport  camp,  thereby 
weakened,  might  be  all  the  more  easily  attacked." 

However,  there  was  nothing  sanguine  in  the  tone 
of  Wolfe's  mind  at  this  juncture.  He  had  been 
two  months  before  the  city,  the  summer  was  rapid- 
ly passing  away,  and  little  was  accomplished.  The 
whole  case  is  summed  up  frankly  in  his  own  letter 
to  Pitt,  in  which  he  gave  Townshend's  plan,  and 
said  he  had  acquiesced  in  it  ;  but  he  detailed  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  carrying  it  out  and  reca- 
pitulated the  elements  that  had  hitherto  retarded 
success — the  vigilance  of  the  Indian  scouts  prevent- 
ing surprise,  the  batteries  on  the  heights  command- 
ing the  fleet  in  case  of  a  direct  assault  on  the  tuwn 
from  the  river,  and  the  difficulty  of  receiving  any 


[1759. 


1759] 


THE   CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC. 


345 


idea  of 
am,  he 
)n  that 
ere  we 
etween 
>  camp 
)ffer  us 
:,  prob- 
a  result 
:  Beau- 
Charles 
)osition 
:hereby 
<ed." 
le  tone 
d  been 
;  rapid- 
.     The 
I  letter 
n,  and 
ed  the 
i  reca- 
:tarded 
revent- 
imand- 
e  town 
ig  any 


help  from  the  fleet  in  the  position  it  must  necessarily 
take,  if  the  Upper  Town  were  chosen  for  the  at- 
tack. "  In  this  situation,"  said  he,  "  there  is  such 
*  a  choice  of  difficulties  that  I  own  myself  at  a  loss 
how  to  determine." 

Curiously  enough,  we  have  what  is  supposed  to  be 
a  record  of  Montcalm's  opinions  at  about  the  same 
time,  in  a  letter  sent  to  Paris.  After  describing  the 
ill  success  of  the  besiegers,  he  says  their  only  hope 
is  in  "  effecting  a  descent  on  the  bank  where  the 
city  is  situated,  without  fortifications  and  without 
defence.  They  would  then  be  in  a  position  to  offer 
me  battle,  which  I  could  not  refuse,  and  which  I 
should  not  gain.  .  .  .  My  Canadians,  without 
discipline,  deaf  to  the  voice  of  the  drum  and  martial 
instruments,  disordered  by  this  movement,  could 
not  formi  their  ranks  again.  Moreover,  they  are 
without  bayonets  to  oppose  to  those  of  the  enemy  ; 
they  could  only  fly,  and  there  I  should  be,  beaten 
without  remedy." 

This  remaikable  military  prophecy  was  followed  by 
a  still  more  remarkable  political  prophecy  which  is 
quoted  elsewhere.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  au- 
thenticity of  so  wonderful  a  document  as  this  letter 
should  be  questioned  ;  but  Carlyle,  who  quotes  it  in 
his  "  Frederick  the  Great,"  declares  in  a  note  to 
the  last  edition  of  the  work  that  it  is  a  forgery.     His 


I    , 


t  ' 


t 


i 


'  w 


f  !{ 


!' 


346 


TI/E   CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759- 


reasons  are  not  given  ;  but  the  fact  that  the  letter 
was  first  published  in  London  in  1777  is  suspicious,  as 
its  fabrication  might  then  have  had  a  political  end  in 
view.  Moreover,  it  is  hard  to  understand  why  Mont- 
calm should  have  written  a  long  letter  of  this  sort  at 
a  time  when  there  was  very  little  prospect  of  getting 
it  to  France.  But  something  stronger  than  mere  con- 
jecture is  needed  to  overturn  the  authority  of  the  doc- 
ument. On  the  29th  of  August,  five  vessels  ran  past 
the  town,  and  the  next  day  four  more.  On  the  1st 
of  September  the  sick  and  wounded  were  brought 
to  the  Isle  of  Orleans  ;  on  the  2d,  a  large  body  of 
th<^  troops  in  position  there  withdrew  ;  on  the  3d, 
the  main  body  set  all  the  houses  and  fortifications 
on  fire,  embarked  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  and 
moved  to  Point  Levi  ;  and  on  the  4th,  the  troops 
on  the  Island  of  Orleans  were  shifted  to  the  same 
place.  The  whole  available  force  of  the  army  was 
then  on  the  south  side  of  the  river. 

On  the  7th,  8th,  and  9th,  Admiral  Holmes,  com- 
manding the  squadron  above  the  city,  stretching 
from  Sillery  to  Point  aux  Trembles,  manoeuvred  to 
divert  the  attention  of  the  French.  Montcalm  was 
on  the  alert,  and  sent  Bougainville  up  the  river 
with  about  three  thousand  men  to  watch  the  enemy's 
movements.  The  bank  was  regularly  patrolled, 
and  guards  were  stationed  at  the  Anse  des  Meres, 


[1759- 


1759-] 


THE   CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC. 


347 


Anse  du  Foulon,  and  the  Cove  of  Samos,  all  of 
which  the  French  general  persisted  in  regarding 
as  impracticable,  probably  because  he  was  urged 
to  take  additional  precautions  by  Vaudreuil.  A 
month  earlier,  he  had  said  in  a  letter  to  the  Gov- 
ernor touching  these  points  :  "  Vigilant  patrolling  is 
all  that  is  needed  in  addition  ;  for  we  need  not  sup- 
pose that  our  enemies  have  wings  to  enable  them  in 
one  night  to  cross  the  flood,  debark,  ascend  broken- 
up,  steep  ways,  and  resort  to  escalade— an  operation 
all  the  more  unlikely  to  take  place,  as  the  assailants 
would  have  to  bring  ladders." 

On  another  occasion  he  wrote  to  Vaudreuil,  who 
was  concerned  about  the  Anse  des  M^res  :  "  I  swear 
to  you  that  one  hundred  men  posted  will  stop  an 
army,  give  us  time  to  wait  till  daylight,  and  then 
come  up  from  the  right.  At  the  slightest  nocturnal 
alarm,  I  shall  march  to  your  relief  with  the  regi- 
ments of  Guyenne  and  Beam,  which  encamp  in  line 
to-morrow.  Show  light  to-night  in  canoes  ;  and  if 
darkness  be  great,  light  up  fires."  It  seems  singu- 
lar that  he  who  had  left  nothing  to  chance  below 
the  city,  should   have   trusted   so   much  to   chance 

above  it. 

After  a  careful  exmination  of  the  northern  bank, 
Wolfe  and  his  officers  had  chosen  for  the  contem- 
plated descent  a  spot  about  three  miles  above  the 


ii 


4-  • 


.f4 


348 


r//£   CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759. 


city,  called  the  Anse  du  Foulon,  now  known  as 
Wdlfe's  Cove.  There  a  narrow  path  ran  up  the  bank, 
and  was  defended  at  the  top  by  an  escarpment.  The 
position  was  guarded  by  about  one  hundred  men  ; 
but,  unfortunately  for  the  French,  the  place  was  in 
command  of  Vercors,  who,  three  years  before,  had 
surrendered  Beau  Sejour,  and  was  more  notable 
for  his  skill  in  peculation  than  for  his  soldiership. 

Some  of  the  English  troops  marched  on  the  south 
bank  to  a  point  eight  miles  up  the  river,  and  there 
embarked,  but  were  set  ashore  again.  On  Septem- 
ber nth,  Wolfe  issued  an  order  warning  the  army 
to  be  in  readiness  to  land  and  attack  the  enemy,  and 
hinting  at  a  night's  service  in  the  boats.  On  the 
1 2th,  a  deserter  from  Montcalm's  camp  reported  the 
bulk  of  the  French  army  below  the  tov.  n,  and  the 
general  incredulous  as  to  any  serious  design  at  any 
point  above.  On  the  evening  of  that  day,  Wolfe 
issued  his  last  general  order,  declaring  that  the 
Canadians  were  disheartened,  that  Amherst  was  ad- 
vancing, and  that  a  vigorous  blow  would  determine 
the  fate  of  Canada.  Those  first  ashore  were  enjoined 
to  form  with  expedition,  march  straight  on  the 
enemy,  and  charge  whatever  appeared.  Much  was 
to  be  expected  from  them  in  dealing  with  "  five 
weak  French  battalions  mingled  with  a  disorderly 
peasantry." 


[1759. 


»759.j 


THE   CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC, 


3-J9 


The  same  evening,  the  heavier  vessels  below  the 
city  stood  in  toward  Beauport  shore  and  lowered 
away  their  boats  filled  with  seamen  and  marines,  as 
if  for  an  attack.  The  rest  of  them  set  all  sail  and 
moved  rapidly  up  to  join  Holmes's  squadron  at  Cape 
Rouge,  eight  miles  above  the  city,  to  which  point 
Murray  and  Monckton  marched  from  Point  Levi, 
and  the  whole  army  embarked. 

It  was  nine  o'clock  when  the  first  division  of 
sixteen  hundred  men,  composed  of  the  light  infan- 
try commanded  by  Colonel  Howe,  the  regiments  of 
Bragg,  Kennedy,  Lascelles,  and  Anstruther,  a  de- 
tachment of  the  Highlanders,  and  the  American 
Grenadiers,  took  their  places  in  the  flat-bottomed 
boats,  and  the  flotilla  dropped  down  the  river  with 
the  tide,  Holmes's  squadron  following  with  the  rest 
of  the  troops  at  an  interval  of  forty-five  minutes. 
Wolfe,  though  scarcely  recovered  from  his  illness, 
was  as  usual  in  the  lead  ;  and  there  is  a  tradition 

« 

that,  as  he  sat  in  the  boat,  floating  along  between 
the  clear  water  and  the  starlit  sky,  the  sense  of  the 
nothingness  of  that  glory  for  which  he  had  so 
thirsted  came  over  him,  and  he  repeated  these  lines 
from  Gray's  Elegy  : 

"  The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauiy,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 
Await  alike  the  inexorable  hour  : 
The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  .N.Y.  14580 

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THE    CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC. 


Il759- 


"  Now,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  I  would  rather  be 
the  author  of  that  poem  than  take  Quebec."  And 
doubtless  the  capture  of  the  Canadian  citadel  was  an 
'  easier  task  than  the  composition  of  that  almost  fault- 
less threnody. 

It  was  a  circumstance  in  favor  of  the  English  ex- 
pedition, that  the  French  were  expecting  a  convoy 
of  provisions  from  Bougainville,  and,  warned  of  the 
fact,  the  boats  gave  the  proper  answer  when  the 
French  sentinels  challenged  along  the  shore.  One 
of  the  English  vessels,  however,  unaware  of  the  at- 
tempt to  land,  and  on  the  watch  for  the  convoy, 
came  near  ruining  the  enterprise  by  firing  on  the 
flotilla.  The  rapidity  of  the  ebbing  tide  carried 
part  of  the  boats  a  little  below  the  appointed  landing. 

An  hour  before  daylight,  the  light  company  of 
the  78th  Highlanders,  which  was  the  first  to  land, 
began  to  scramble  up  the  wooded  precipice.  The 
captain,  Donald  Macdonald,  answered  the  challenge 
of  the  sentinel  in  French,  and  gained  a  few 
moments.  But  the  noise  of  the  advance  startled 
the  guard,  which  turned,  fired  an  irregular  volley 
down  the  precipice,  and  fled.  According  to  an  Eng- 
lish account,  Vercors,  the  captain,  alone  stood  his 
ground  and  resisted  stoutly  ;  according  to  a  French 
account,  he  was  captured  in  his  bed. 

With  very  little  loss,  the  troops  reached  the  heights 


!", 


I759-] 


THE   CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC. 


351 


and  formed  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  the  table- 
land stretching  away  for  nine  miles  above  the  city. 
As  fast  as  a  boat  was  emptied,  it  was  despatched  to 
'  the  fleet,  and  reloaded  with  the  men  of  Town- 
shend's  division.  The  battalions  formed  on  the  nar- 
row beach,  marched  up  the  winding  path,  and  re- 
formed on  the  open  ground  above.  At  dawn,  the 
whole  army  was  in  line,  but  only  one  gun  had  been 
brought  up  the  hill. 

Montcalm  had  been  deceived  by  the  movements 
of  the  boats  below  the  town  during  the  night,  as 
they  seemed  to  be  threatening  different  points 
between  Beauport  and  Montmorenci  ;  and,  though 
he  heard  the  sound  of  a  cannon  and  the  rattle  of 
musketry  from  the  westward  after  daylight,  he  had 
no  notion  of  what  had  happened,  until  couriers  gal- 
loped into  the  camp  at  six  o'clock  with  the  intelli- 
gence. 

"  It  can  be  but  a  small  party  come  to  burn  a  few 
houses  and  retire,"  he  said.  But  when  the  news 
was  confirmed,  he  exclaimed  :  *'  Then  they  have  at 
last  reached  the  weak  side  of  this  miserable  garri- 
son !  We  must  give  them  battle  and  crush  them 
before  mid-day." 

Gathering  all  his  available  force,  he  moved  rapidly 
across  the  St.  Charles  by  the  bridge  of  boats,  and 
past  the  ramparts  of  the  town,  Vaudreuil  being  left 


35« 


THE   CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759. 


to  guard  the  liuies.  As  early  as  eight  o'clock,  the 
head  of  the  column  was  in  sight,  and  by  nine  Mont- 
calm was  forming  his  line  of  battle.  It  has  been 
said  that  he  should  not  have  fought  at  all  :  Bougain- 
ville was  within  an  easy  march  ;  the  English  army 
was  weak,  and  could  not  attempt  to  attack  a  supe- 
rior, or  even  an  equal  force,  resting  on  the  works 
of  the  city  ;  the  season  was  far  advanced,  and  the 
raising  of  the  siege  merely  a  question  of  days.  To 
deliver  a  hasty  battle  seemed  mere  madness.  Mont- 
calm may  have  been  fluttered  by  the  appearance  of 
the  British  in  so  dangerous  a  position,  and  so  have 
made  an  unwise  decision  ;  or  it  may  be  that  he  was 
convinced  he  had  a  fair  chance  of  victory,  and  saw 
that  victory  won  under  such  circumstances  meant 
the  complete  destruction  of  his  enemy.  Perhaps  he 
simply  saw  the  end  approaching  which  he  had  so 
long  anticipated  ;  and,  believing  there  was  nothing 
effective  to  be  done,  determined  to  do  something 
gallant. 

Wolfe's  line  of  battle  was  formed  with  the  right 
on  the  precipice,  scarcely  a  mile  from  the  ramparts 
of  the  town.  The  35th  regiment  was  on  the  ex- 
treme right,  the  Louisbourg  grenadiers  joined  them, 
and  the  28th  prolonged  the  line  to  the  43d,  which 
constituted  the  centre.  Toward  the  left,  the  47th, 
the  78th  Highlanders,  and  the  58th  followed  in  sue- 


1759] 


THE   CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC. 


353 


cession,  the  last  regiment  holding  the  brow  of  the 
ridge  overlooking  the  valley  of  the  St.  Charles  and 
completing  the  first  line.  In  the  second  line,  the 
15th  regiment  rested  its  right  upon  the  river-bank  ; 
the  two  battalions  of  the  60th,  or  Royal  Americans, 
occupied  the  plain  to  the  left,  Colonel  Burton  with 
the  48th  regiment  was  held  in  reserve,  and  Colonel 
Howe  with  the  light  infantry,  grouped  in  some 
houses  and  neighboring  coppices,  protected  the  left 
flank.  Wolfe  with  Monckton  took  his  station  on  the 
right  of  the  first  line,  Murray  commanded  on  the 
left,  and  Townshend  had  charge  of  the  second 
line. 

Montcalm's  right  was  formed  of  the  regiment  of 
La  Sarre  and  Languedoc,  with  a  battalion  of  the 
Colonial  troops  ;  the  regiments  of  Bearne  and 
Guyenne  were  in  the  centre,  supported  by  a  strong 
body  of  militia  ;  the  Royal  Roussillon  and  a  battal- 
ion of  the  marine  held  the  left.  The  commandeif 
took  his  place  in  the  centre. 

The  ordinary  English  historian  is  accustomed  to 
give  the  strength  of  Wolfe's  army  at  forty-eight 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  men,  and  that  of  Mont- 
calm's at  seventy-five  hundred  and  twenty,  basing 
the  latter  figure  on  the  authority  of  an  "  intelligent 
Frenchman,"  casually  mentioned  in  Knox's  Journal, 
feut   not   nanied.      The  ordinary   French  historian 


11: 


354 


rilf   CAPTURE   CF  QUEBEC. 


[•759- 


«    is 

! 

il 
111 


allows  Wolfe  eight  thousand  and  Montcalm  four 
thousand  five  hundred  troops.  But  the  best  author- 
ities estimate  the  strength  of  each  army  at  less 
than  five  thousand  men,  and  as  nearly  numerically 
equal.  The  English  troops,  however,  were  a  solid 
mass  of  tried  veterans,  confident  in  themselves  and 
confident  in  their  leader  ;  the  French  troops  were 
an  incongruous  mixture,  part  of  whom  mistrusted 
themselves,  and  part  of  whom  mistrusted  their  com- 
rades, while  the  commander  mistrusted  his  army  as 
a  whole.  Artillery  played  but  little  part  in  the  bat- 
tle. To  offset  the  single  cannon  that  Wolfe  had 
dragged  up  the  precipice,  Montcalm  brought  up  only 
two  guns. 

If  it  was  inconsiderate  folly  on  the  part  of  the 
French  general  to  risk  a  battle,  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  he  fought  it  like  a  bold  and  skilful  sol- 
dier. About  ten  o'clock,  after  an  hour's  cannonad- 
ing, the  fighting  opened  on  the  right,  where  the 
French  skirmishers,  mainly  Canadians  and  Indians, 
pushed  up  the  slope  from  the  valley  of  the  St. 
Charles,  turned  the  left  flank  of  Murray's  brigade, 
and  attacked  Howe's  light  infantry.  The  object  of  the 
movement,  which  was  gallantly  executed,  seemed  to 
be  to  roll  back  the  English  line  and  crowd  it  over 
the  precipice.  Townshend,  who  exhibited  singular" 
ability  throughout   this  campaign,  pushed  forward 


1759] 


THE   CAPTURE   OF  QUEBEC. 


355 


the  15th  regiment  and  the  Royal  Americans  to  the 
help  of  Howe,  and  restored  the  fight. 

Meanwhile  the  French  centre  and  left  advanced 
rapidly,  driving  in  Wolfe's  skirmishers,  whose  retreat 
for  a  moment  disordered  the  main  line.  But  the 
disturbance  passed  away,  and  the  British  waited 
quietly  for  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  The  French 
line  came  on,  firing  quickly  at  a  distance  of  a  hun- 
dred yards.  Wolfe,  who  was  moving  along  his  line 
exhorting  the  men  to  reserve  their  fire  till  they 
could  deliver  a  volley  at  a  distance  of  forty  yards, 
was  struck  in  the  wrist  with  a  bullet  ;  but  he  wrap- 
ped his  handkerchief  about  his  hand,  and  paid  no 
further  attention  to  the  wound.  When  at  last  the 
English  troops  received  the  order  to  fire,  they  de- 
livered one  of  those  close  and  deadly  volleys  for 
which  they  are  celebrated,  and  under  the  crash  of 
that  battle-bolt  the  French  column  staggered.  St. 
Ours  was  killed,  Senezergues  fell  mortally  wounded, 
and  many  minor  officers  and  men  were  stretched 
upon  the  field.  The  pressure  of  the  fire  was  so 
fierce  that  the  Canadian  militia  broke,  notwithstand- 
ing the  efltorts  of  Montcalm  to  keep  them  steady  ; 
and  while  the  Fiench  left  and  centre  hesitated  and 
wavered,  the  right,  checked  by  Townshend's  dis- 
positions, began  to  recoil  before  a  counter-attack  of 
the  58th  and  78th  regiments. 


■  i'i 

ii 


i 


M 


356 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC. 


LI759- 


Wolfe,  seeing  that  the  crisis  of  the  fighc  was  at 
hand,  ordered   an  advance   along  the   whole   line. 
The  movement,  which  began  as  a  slow  but  steady 
advance,  with  deadly  volleys  clearing  the  way,  soon 
took  the  form  of  a  triumphant  charge,  the  French 
breaking  away  in  all  directions.     At  this  juncture 
Wolfe  was  struck  a  second  time,  somewhat  more 
seriously,  and  as  he  pressed  on  in  the  pursuit  at  the 
head  of  the  Louisbourg  grenadiers,  he  was  struck  in 
the  breast  by  a  shot  from  a  redoubt.     He  staggered, 
but  catching  hold  of  Lieutenant  Brown,  of  the  22d, 
murmured  :   "  Support  me,  that  my  brave  fellows 
may  not  see  me  fall."     The  lieutenant,  a  volunteer 
named  Henderson,  and  a  private  soldier  of  the  22d, 
carried  him  a  little  way  to  the  rear,  with  the  help  of 
Captain  Williamson  of  the  Royal  Artillery.     There 
he  asked  to  be  laid  down.     They  wanted  to  know 
if  he  would  have  a  surgeon,  but  he  said  :  "  It  is 
needless  ;  it  is  all  over  with  me." 

One  of  the  group  about  him  cried  out  :  "  They 
run,  see  how  they  run  !" 

Like  a  man  roused  from  sleep,  Wolfe,  who   had 
been  sinking  rapidly,  asked  :   "  Who  runs?" 

"The   enemy,    sir,"  was   the   answer.     "Egad! 
they  give  way  everywhere." 

"  Go  one  of  you,  my  lads,"  said  Wolfe,  "  to  Col- 
onel Burton.     Tell  him'  to  march  Webb's  regiment 


1759] 


THE   CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC. 


357 


with  all  speed  down  to  the  St.  Charles,  to  cut  off 
the  retreat  of  the  fugitives  from  the  bridge." 
Then,  turning  on  his  side,  he  died  with  the  ex- 
'clamation  :  "  Now,  God  be  praised  !  I  will  die  in 
peace.'* 

About  the  same  time  that  Wolfe  was  struck 
down,  Carleton  fell  severely  wounded,  and  Barr6  re- 
ceived a  ball  in  the  head,  from  the  effect  of  which 
he  afterward  lost  the  sight  of  one  eye.  Monckton 
also  fell,  disabled  but  not  dangerously  hurt,  as  he 
was  advancing  between  the  43d  and  47th  regiments, 
and  the  command  devolved  upon  Townshend,  who, 
after  disposing  of  the  last  organized  resistance  in  a 
coppice  toward  the  left  of  the  victorious  forces,  took 
measures  to  withdraw  from  the  pursuit  and  re-form 
the  troops  to  meet  the  expected  advance  of  Bou- 
gainville from  up  the  river.  The  47th  and  58th  regi- 
ments had  pushed  the  fugitives  up  to  the  very  gates 
of  St.  Louis  and  St.  John,  while  the  78th  Highland- 
ers, drawing  their  broadswords,  followed  the  strag- 
glers, slaughtering  as  they  went  ;  many  of  the 
Frenchmen  joining  to  the  cry  for  quarter  the  protest 
that  they  had  not  been  at  Fort  William  Henry. 
The  remnants  of  the  left  and  centre  of  Montcalm's 
army  found  refuge  within  the  fortifications  of  the 
city,  while  all  that  was  left  of  the  right  wing  fell 
back  in  confusion  beyond  the  St.  Charles. 


358 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759. 


Montcalm  had  been  mortally  wounded  while 
making  a  gallant  effort  to  rally  his  men.  Death 
came  to  him  more  slowly  than  to  Wolfe  ;  but  he 
met  it  with  a  Christian  resignation  not  less  admir- 
able than  the  fiery  heroism  of  the  British  com-  * 
mander.  When  he  had  been  carried  to  the  general 
hospital,  a  convent  of  the  Augustine  nuns  on  the 
St.  Charles,  about  a  mile  from  the  town,  and  put  to 
bed,  with  his  wound  dressed,  he  asked  the  surgeon 
if  his  hurt  was  mortal.  When  told  that  it  was,  he 
said:  "I  am  glad  of  it."  He  then  inquired: 
"How  long  can  I  survive?"  "About  a  dozen 
hours  ;  perhaps  more,  peradventure  less,"  was  the 
answer.  "  So  much  the  better,"  said  Montcalm  ; 
"  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of  Que- 
bec." 

Shortly  afterward  Monsieur  de  Ramsay,  the 
King's  lieutenant,  in  command  of  the  fortifications 
of  the  city,  called  upon  the  general  and  asked  his 
advice  on  various  points  touching  the  defence.  The 
dying  man  made  answer  :  "I'll  neither  give  orders 
nor  interfere  any  further.  I  have  business  that 
must  be  attended  to  of  much  greater  moment  than 
your  ruined  garrison  and  this  wretched  country.  My 
time  is  very  short  ;  therefore,  pray  leave  me.  I 
wish  you  all  comfort,  and  to  be  happily  extricated 
from  your  present  perplexities."    He  then  called  for 


1759] 


THE   CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC, 


3S9 


his  chaplain  and  prepared  for  death,  which  came  to 
his  relief  on  the  evening  of  September  14th. 

The  battle  was  scarcely  over  when  Bougainville 
appeared  upon  the  field  ;  but  the  resolute  front  and 
superior  numbers  of  Townshend  dismayed  him,  and 
lie  fell  back  unpursued  to  Cape  Rouge.     There  he 
was   joined    the   same  evening  by  Vaudreuil,  who 
had  abandoned  the  intrenched  camp  below  the  St. 
Charles    with   the   remnants   of  the  French  army. 
Word  was  sent  to  M.  de  Levis,  then  at  Montreal,  to 
come  and  assume  command    in  Montcalm's  place, 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  an  energetic  leader 
such  as  he  was  might  have  done  something  to  re- 
trieve the  evil  effects  of  the  first  battle  of  the  Plains 
of  Abraham  ;  but  by  the  time  he  was  ready  to  move, 
Quebec  had  surrendered. 

On  the  day  succeeding  the  action,  Townshend 
began  the  construction  of  works  against  the  city  and 
cut  it  off  from  communication  with  the  surrounding 
country;  and  on  the  17th  the  fleet  moved  up  for 
an  attack  on  the  Lower  Town.  Provisions  were 
scarce,  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  were  disheart- 
ened, and  the  prospects  of  a  protracted  defence  were 
gloomy.  Consequently,  M.  de  Ramsay  completed 
negotiations  for  the  surrender  of  the  place  at  once. 
The  capitulation  was  proclaimed  on  the  morning  of 
the  1 8th,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  representatives  of 


$6o 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  QUE  EEC, 


[1759- 


the  army  took  possession  of  the  Upper  Town,  the 
representatives  of  the  navy  assuming  the  honor  of 
occupying  the  Lower  Town.  The  terms  granted 
were  honorable,  as  .  ownshend  and  Admiral  Saun- 
ders were  only  too  glad  to  secure  their  easy  conquest 
by  liberal  concessions.  The  garrison  marched  cut 
v/ith  tl;e  honors  of  war,  the  people  were  secured  in 
all  their  rights  and  privileges,  and  the  Catholic 
churrh  was  guaranteed  the  enjoyment  of  free- 
dom and  the  possession  of  its  property.  On  the 
part  of  the  French  commander,  the  surrender  must, 
on  the  whole,  be  regarded  as  somewhat  pusillani- 
mous, since  a  messenger  from  De  Levis  arrived  on 
the  1 8th  with  a  promise  of  help,  which  that  officer 
would  certainly  have  tried  desperately  to  make 
good. 

So  ended  the  memorable  siege  of  Quebec.  The 
battle  which  decided  the  result  was  a  mere  skirmish, 
if  we  consider  only  the  numbers  engaged  and  the 
losses  ;  for  the  English  acknowledge  a  loss  on  their 
own  part  of  but  fifty-five  killed  and  six  hundred  and 
seven  wounded  of  all  ranks,  and  only  claim  a  loss  on 
the  part  of  the  French  of  fifteen  hundred  killed, 
wounded,  or  missing.  But  the  romantic  circum- 
stances attending  tTie  action — the  night  movement 
on  the  great  river,  the  ascent  of  a  precipice  to  find 
a  field  of  battle,   the  fall  of  the  two  commanders. 


I759J 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC. 


361 


one  so  heroic  in  his  victory,  and  the  other  so  manly 
in  his  defeat,  the  decisive  results  of  the  brief  strug- 
gle— all  these  things  make  the  story  of  the  capture 
of  Quebec  a  favorite  with  the  historian  and  the 
artist. 

To  be  sure,  the  decisive  character  of  the  engage- 
ment on  the  Plains  of  Abraham  was  mainly  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  was  England  that  won  the  victory  ; 
for  the  result  gave  her  one  of  those  strong  natural 
positions  on  a  great  commercial  channel  which  her 
mastery  at  sea  has  enabled  her  to  hold  in  different 
parts  of  the  world.  Though  the  war  was  still  to  linger 
on,  the  event  was  no  longer  doubtful,  as  the  posses- 
sion of  Quebec  afforded  the  means  of  bringing  the 
naval  power  of  Great  Britain  to  bear  effectively  ; 
and  the  support  of  that  power  rendered  Quebec  in- 
vulnerable. The  French  might  win  another  battle 
on  the  spot  where  Wolfe  had  defeated  them,  but  it 
was  destined  to  be  a  barren  victory. 

The  news  of  the  fall  of  the  capital  of  Canada 
reached  England  two  days  after  the  news  of  the 
*  defeat  at  Montmorenci,  and  caused  the  wildest  re- 
joicings— save  in  one  small  Kentish  village,  where 
sympathy  with  the  widowed  mother  of  the  dead  vic- 
tor restrained  the  expression  of  public  gratification. 
The  remains  of  Wolfe  were  taken  to  England  for 
interment,    and   his   memory  was  honored   by  his 


3^2 


THE   CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC. 


[1759. 


I  Si 


!fl 


'f  ?' 


countrymen  with  lavish  gratitude.  Montcalm  was 
buried  in  a  church  in  Quebec,  in  a  tomb  scooped 
out  by  a  hostile  shell.  To-day  a  monument  erected 
to  the  honor  of  both  heroes  looks  down  on  the 
scene  of  their  struggle  —a  memorial  of  one  of  those 
few  conquests  in  the  history  of  the  world  in  which 
the  vanquished  have  preserved  possessions,  lan- 
guage, religion,  and  the  fair  fame  of  the  men  who 
died  for  the  lost  cause. 


59. 


ed 
ed 
he 
)se 
ch 
m- 
ho 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  SURRENDER  OF  CANADA. 

Siege  of  Quebec  by  De  Levi  .—Battle  at  Sillery  Wood— Amherst  on 
the  St.  LawreiT^e— Surrender  of  Isle  Royale— Surrender  of  Mont- 
real and  the  Whole  of  Canada— The  Treaty  of  Paris— Pre- 
dictions of  the  Revolt  of  the  Colonies. 

Notwithstanding  the  successes  of  1759,  Can- 
ada was  not  yet  completely  conquered.  If  Am- 
herst had  moved  on  faster  and  taken  Montreal, 
the  work  would  have  been  finished  ;  but  his  failure 
tc  do  so  gave  the  French  forces  an  opportunity  to 
rally,  and  the  indefatigable  De  Levis,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Montcalm,  gathered  what  remained  of  the 
army  at  Montreal,  and  made  preparations  for  at- 
tempting the  recovery  of  Quebec.  The  people  of 
Canada  w^ere  still  more  pressed  with  want  than  the 
year  before  ;  wheat  sold  at  from  thirty  to  forty 
livres  a  bushel  (six  or  eight  dollars),  a  cow  was  worth 
nine  hundred  livres,  and  a  sheep  from  two  to  three 

hundred. 

After  several  fruitless  attacks  had  been  made  on 
the  British  outposts  during  the  winter,  De  Levis 
refitted  all  the  vessels    yet  remaining  early  in  the 


I 


364 


THE  SURRENDER  OF  CANADA. 


[1760. 


spring  and  gathered  the  stores  still  left  at  the  forts 
on  the  Richelieu.  On  the  17th  of  April,  he  left 
Montreal  with  all  his  force,  and  descended  the  river, 
gathering  up  the  detached  troops  on  the  way ; 
the  whole  amounting  to  more  than  ten  thousand 
men. 

Quebec  had  been  left  in  charge  of  Murray,  with 
seven  thousand  men,  a  supply  of  heavy  artillery,  and 
stores  of  ammunition  and  provisions  ;  but  the  num- 
ber of  men  had  been  much  reduced  by  sickness  and 
by  hardship  encountered  in  bringing  fuel  to  the 
city  from  forests,  some  as  far  as  ten  miles  away. 
Their  position,  however,  had  been  very  much 
strengthened  ;  Murray  had  erected  redoubts,  with 
artillery,  outside  the  fortifications,  and  repaired  five 
hundred  of  the  injured  houses  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  his  troops. 

De  Levis  encamped  at  St.  Foy,  and  on  the  27th 
advanced  to  within  three  miles  of  the  city.  Murray 
took  the  unaccountable  resolution  of  sallying  out 
with  his  reduced  and  dispirited  army  to  meet  the 
enemy  in  the  open  field — a  measure  which  he  after- 
ward attempted  to  explain  in  a  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  State:  "Well  weighing  my  peculiar 
position,  and  well  knowing  that  in  shutting  myself 
up  within  the  walls  of  the  city,  I  should  risk  the 
whole  stake  in  the  chance  of  defending  a  wretched 


1760.] 


THE  SURRENDER   OF  CANADA, 


365 


fortification,  which  could  not  be  lessened  by  an 
action  in  the  field." 

On  the  nnorning  of  the  28th  of  April,  Murray- 
marched  his  wasted  army  out  to  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  with  twenty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  formed 
his  Hne  of  battle.  Riding  out  to  obseive  the  po- 
sition of  the  enemy,  he  found  that  they  were  un- 
prepared for  action,  and  returning  he  gave  orders 
for  an  immediate  attack,  and  the  army  marched 
down  the  slope  from  the  heights  and  into  the  plains 
near  Sillery  Wood. 

Two  companies  of  the  French  grenadiers  advanced 
and  met  the  vanguard  of  the  British,  and  then  drew 
back  ;  whereupon  some  of  Murray's  men  pursued 
them,  but  were  thus  exposed  to  the  fire  of  their  own 
cannon,  which  obliged  the  gunners  to  cease  firing, 
and  they  were  repelled  in  turn  by  the  French,  who 
were  now  in  battle  array.  The  engagement  imme- 
diately became  general.  The  British  left  soon 
gave  way,  and  drew  back  in  confusion  ;  the  right  fol- 
lowed ;  the  artillery  was  lost  ;  and  at  length  only  two 
regiments  held  the  forlorn  hope,  and  Murray's  men 
were  forced  to  fly,  leaving  three  hundred  dead  upon 
the  field.  The  wounded  amounted  to  about  seven 
hundred,  many  of  whom  were  left  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  It  is  charged  that  only  twenty-eight  of 
these  were  sent  to  the  hospitals,  and  the  rest  given 


1 1 


366 


THE  SURRENDER   OF  CANADA. 


[1760. 


I- 


up  to  the  Indians  ;  but  the  French  accounts  say 
that  the  Indians,  who  had  taken  no  part  in  the  ac- 
tion, but  had  been  skulking  in  the  rear,  came  to  the 
field  during  the  pursuit  and  killed  many  of  the 
wounded,  while  those  that  survived  were  protected 
from  the  Indians,  whom  De  Levis  quickly  dispersed, 
and  received  the  same  treatment  as  the  wounded 
French.  The  loss  of  De  Levis  has  been  variously 
given  at  from  four  hundred  to  eighteen  hundred. 

The  French  made  immediate  preparations  for  a 
siege  by  opening  trenches.  The  English  garrison 
was  so  reduced  that  not  more  than  twenty-two  hun- 
dred were  fit  for  service  ;  but  they  all  went  to  work 
with  alacrity,  hoping  to  hold  out  until  relief  should 
come.  Five  hundrea  men  who  could  not  walk  with- 
out crutches,  made  sand-bags  and  cartridges  ;  and 
the  women  who  were  not  employed  in  the  care  of 
the  wounded  assisted  in  the  light  work  of  the  gar- 
rison. One  hundred  and  thirty-two  cannon  were 
mounted,  and  opened  fire  on  the  French  lines. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  a  ship  was  seen  turning  the 
bend  below  and  advancing  toward  the  city.  Both 
armies  were  expecting  relief,  and  their  strength  was 
so  nearly  balanced  that  the  turning  of  the  scale 
depended  on  the  approaching  ship.  "  Such  was  the 
garrison's  anxiety,"  wrote  one  of  them,  "  that  we 
remained  some  time  in  suspense,  not   having  eyes 


X76o.] 


THE  SURRENDER  OF  CANADA, 


367 


enough    to   look   at   it  ;    but   we   were   soon    con- 
vinced that   she  was   British,  although   there  were 
some  among  us  who,  having  their  motives  for  ap- 
pearing wise,  sought  to  temper   our  joy  by  obsti- 
nately insisting  that  she  was  French.     But  the  ves- 
sel having  saluted  the  fort  with  twenty-one  guns, 
and  launched  her  small  boat,  all  doubts  vanished.    It 
is  impossible  to  describe  the  gayety  that  seized  upon 
the  garrison.     Officers  and  men  mounted  the  ram- 
parts, mocked  at  the  French,  and  for  an  hour  raised 
continual  hurras,  and  threw  their  caps  into  the  air. 
The  city,  the  enemy's  camp,  the  harbor,  and  the 
country  around  for  miles  in  extent,  reechoed  our 
cries  and  the  roar  of  our  batteries." 

Other  vessels  arrived  on  the  15th,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  they  attacked  and  quickly  destroyed  the 
little  French  fleet  under  Vauquelin.  Dc  Levis,  hav- 
ing nothing  more  to  hope  for,  raised  the  siege  in 
haste,  abandoned  his  stores,  and  retreated  to  Mont- 
real. A  detachment  of  English  troops  pursued, 
and  brought  back  a  few  prisoners. 

All  this  time,  Amherst  was  ponderously  prepar- 
ing  to  go  to  the  aid  of  Quebec,  and  early  in  May' 
he  was  ready  to  move  from  New  York.  Captain 
Loring  was  sent  to  drive  the  French  cruisers  from 
Lake  Ontario,  to  prevent  the  French  forces  from 
retiring  to    the  west,  and  making   another  stand. 


368 


THE   SURRENDER  OF  CANADA. 


[i  760. 


I 


Amherst  had  chosen  to  reach  Montreal  by  the 
roundabout  way  of  Oswego  and  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Colonel  Haviland  was  to  take  the  direct  route  by 
way  of  Lake  Champlain,  with  about  thirty-five  hun- 
dred men  ;  and  Murray,  aided  by  Lord  RoUo  and 
two  battalions  from  Louisbourg,  had  been  directed 
to  ascend  the  river,  and  meet  Amherst  and  Havi- 
land before  the  doomed  city. 

It  was  the  9th  of  July  when  Amherst  reached 
Oswego  with  part  of  his  army  ;  Gage  brought  the 
rest  on  the  22d,  and  Johnson  and  his  Indians  joined 
the  encampment  the  following  day.  There  were 
over  ten  thousand  soldiers  and  seven  hundred 
Indians. 

On  the  7th- of  August,  Amherst  sent  a  detachment 
under  Haldimand  to  take  possession  of  the  post  at 
the  head  of  the  river,  where  Kingston  now  stands  ; 
and  by  the  12th  the  last  of  the  army  were  embarked, 
and  an  armed  vessel  was  captured  on  the  river  by  a 
detachment  of  men  in  barges,  under  Colonel 
Williamson. 

On  Isle  Royale  was  a  small  work  called  Fort  Levi, 
under  the  command  of  Pouchot,  which  the  English 
expected  to  pass  "  like  a  beaver's  hut."  But  learn- 
ing that  there  were  some  skilful  pilots  there,  Am- 
herst determined  to  capture  it.  Batteries  were 
therefore  placed,  and  on  the  23d  the  vessels  opened 


i76o.] 


HE  SURRENDER  OF  CANADA. 


369 


a  vigorous  fire,  and  were  soon  joined  by  the  bat- 
teries. Pouchot  waited  till  the  ships  were  within 
pistol-shot,  and  then  returned  the  fire  with  such 
spirit  that  two  of  them  were  forced  to  run  aground, 
and  one  to  strike  her  colors. 

Many  of  the  English  ships  bore  Indian  names — 
the  Ottawa,  Oneida,  Onondaga,  etc. — and  the  Cath- 
olic Indians  of  Father  Picquet's  mission,  who  were 
watching  the  contest  from  the  fort,  regarding  the 
ships  as  on  their  side  on  account  of  the  names, 
and  because  they  carried  Indians  painted  on  their 
flags,  became  very  much  excited  at  seeing  them 
faring  badly,  and  especially  when  the  Ottawa  and 
the  Oneida  drifted  off  and  ran  aground. 

On  the  25th,  Pouchot,  being  nearly  at  the  end  of 
his  resources,  surrendered  to  Amherst,  with  his 
garrison  of  nearly  three  hundred  men.  Selecting 
some  guides  for  his  ships  down  the  dangerous  course 
of  the  river,  Amherst  despatched  the  remainder  of 
the  garrison  to  New  York  by  way  of  Oswego.  The 
Indians  had  secretly  planned  to  destroy  the  garrison 
when  the  fort  should  be  given  up  ;  but  Amherst, 
hearing  of  the  plan,  told  Sir  William  Johnson  to 
dissuade  them  from  it,  promising  them  all  the  stores 
in  the  fort,  and  threatening  that  his  own  soldiers 
would  turn  upon  them  if  they  attempted  a  massacre. 
The  Indians  submitted,  but  were  sulky  and  dissatis- 


37° 


THE   SURRENDER   OF  CANADA. 


[1760. 


fied,  and  Johnson  told  Amherst  they  would  prob- 
ably leave  the  army — as,  indeed,  most  of  them  did. 
Amherst  threatened  them  with  vengeance  on  his  re- 
turn if  they  should  commit  any  acts  of  violence  on 
their  way  to  their  homes  ;  and  they  were  forced  to 
content  themselves  with  a  peaceable  journey. 

On  the  way  through  the  rapids,  sixty-four  boats, 
eighty-eight  men,,  and  a  quantity  of  stores  were 
lost.  Amherst  invested  Montreal  on  the  6th  of 
September,  and  was  met  by  Murray,  whose  progress 
up  the  river  had  been  a  continual  skirmish.  Nearly 
every  village  assailed  him  with  a  fire  of  musketry  ; 
and  he  had  taken  vengeance  on  some  by  burning 
them.  Haviland,  coming  up  from  Crown  Point,  had 
forced  Bougainville  to  draw  off  most  of  his  men 
from  Isle  aux  Noix,  and  received  the  surrender  of 
the  remainder,  and  reached  Montreal  a  day  later 
than  Amherst. 

Vaudreuil  had  resolved  not  to  make  any  useless 
resistance,  but  to  give  up  the  city  as  soon  as  the 
English  army  should  arrive  ;  and  on  the  8th  of 
September,  not  only  Montreal,  but  all  Canada — from 
the  fishing  stations  on  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  », 
the  crest  dividing  the  rivers  that  flow  into  lakes 
Erie  and  Michigan  from  those  that  find  their  way 
to  the  Mississippi  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico — was  sur- 
rendered to  England. 


1763] 


THE   SURRENDER  OF  CANADA. 


371 


The  provincial  troops  were  to  return  to  their 
homes,  and  the  regulars  to  march  out  from  their 
posts  with  all  the  honors  of  w.ir,  and  be  sent  to 
France  in  British  vessels,  under  pledges  not  to  serve 
again  before  the  conclusion  of  peace.  The  civil  offi- 
cers were  also  to  be  conveyed  to  France  with  their 
families  and  baggage  ;  and  only  such  papers  were 
to  be  retained  as  would  be  useful  for  the  future  reg- 
ulation of  the  affairs  of  the  colony.  Religious  lib- 
erty was  granted,  private  property  was  to  be  re- 
spected, and  the  French  colonists  were  to  enjoy  the 
same  civil  and  commercial  rights  as  the  British. 

An  armament  had  been  ordered  from  France  to 
the  aid  of  the  French  troops  in  Canada,  consisting 
of  a  thirty-gun  frigate,  two  large  supply-ships,  and 
nineteen  smaller  vessels  ;  but,  learning  that  British 
ships  were  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  officers  thought 
best  to  put  into  t'  e  Bay  of  Chaleurs,  whither  Cap- 
tain Byron,  in  command  at  Louisbo  ,rg,  sailed  with 
five  vessels  and  destroyed  the  entire  fleet,  together 
with  two  batteries  and  two  hundred  houses. 

After  long  negotiations,  the  preliminaries  of 
peace  were  signed  on  the  3d  of  November,  1762, 
and  ratified  February  loth,  1763.  By  this,  called 
the  Treaty  of  Paris,  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Cape 
Breton  were  ceded  to  Great  Britain.  France  re- 
served New  Orleans  and  the  territory  west  of  the 


372 


THE  SURRENDER  OF  CANADA. 


[1763. 


Mississippi,  but  immediately  afterward  ceded  them 
to  Spain.  They  did  not,  however,  remain  long  in 
Spanish  possession,  but  were  returned  to  France, 
and  finally  conveyed  to  the  United  States  in  1803. 

Thus  Great  Britain  gained  possession  of  nearly 
all  the  inhabited  portion  of  North  America.  The 
struggle  to  found  a  French  empire  in  the  west  was 
over,  and  New  France  disappeared  from  the  map, 
while  the  boundary  of  British  America  was  moved 
northward  to  the  Polar  Sea.  It  looked  as  if  the 
lines  of  British  territory  were  definitely  settled. 
But  already  there  were  predictions  that  the  power 
of  England  on  the  western  continent  was  soon  to 
be  assailed  by  her  own  children  in  the  colonies  that 
she  herself  had  planted  ;  that  the  spirit  of  inde- 
pendence which  had  been  growing  up  among  them 
would  break  into  open  rebellion  against  the  arbi- 
trary exactions  of  the  old  country  and  the  repres- 
sions imposed  on  the  growth  of  trade  and  manu- 
factures, so  soon  as  the  fear  of  French  aggression 
from  the  north  and  Indian  hostilities  on  the  frontier 
should  be  removed. 

Writing  after  the  fall  of  Canada,  a  French  diplo- 
matist said  :  "  The  colonies  will  no- longer  need  the 
protection  of  England.  She  will  call  on  them  to 
contribute  toward  supporting  the  burdens  they  have 
helped  to  bring  on  her,  and  they  will  answer  by 


1763] 


THE  SURRENDER  OF  CANADA. 


373 


striking  off  all  dependence."  And  in  the  letter 
before  alluded  to,  said  to  have  been  written  by 
Montcalm  in  1759,  when  he  knew  that  the  surrender 
of  Quebec  was  only  a  question  of  time,  he  said  :  ^ 
"  If  they  must  have  masters,  they  prefer  their 
countrymen  to  strangers,  taking  care,  however,  to 
yield  as  little  obedience  as  possible  ;  but,  Canada 
once  conquered,  and  the  Canadians  one  people  with 
those  colonists,  let  the  first  occasion  come  when 
England  seems  to  interfere  with  their  interests,  and 
do  you  believe,  my  dear  cousin,  that  the  colonies 
will  obey  ?    And  what  would  they  have  to  fear  in 

revolting?" 

Some  English  statesmen  also  saw  the  danger,  and 
wished  to  take  it  into  consideration  in  arranging  the 
terms  of  the  peace.  "  If  the  people  of  our  colonies 
find  no  check  from  Canada,"  said  one  of  them, 
"they  will  extend  themselves  almost  without 
bound  into  the  inland  parts.  They  will  increase  in- 
finitely, from  all  causes.  What  the  consequence 
will  be,  to  have  a  numerous,  hardy,  independent 
people,  possessed  of  a  strong  country,  communicat- 
ing little  or  not  at  all  with  England,  I  leave  to  your 
own  reflections.  By  eagerly  grasping  at  extensive 
territory,  we  may  run  the  risk,  and  in  no  very  dis- 
tant period,  of  losing  what  we  now  possess.  A 
neighbor  that  keeps  us  in  some  awe  is  not  always 


374 


THE  SURRENDER  OF  CANADA. 


[1763. 


the  worst  of  neighbors.  So  that,  far  from  sacrific- 
ing Guadaloupe  to  Canada,  perhaps  if  we  might 
have  Canada  without  any  sacrifice  at  all,  we  ought 
not  to  desire  it.  There  should  be  a  balance  of 
power  in  America." 


INDEX. 


Abenaqi.is,  the,  attacks  by,  83, 
106,  144,  146;  treaties  with  the 
English,  1 10,  131  ;  led  by  Villieu, 
III,  118;  negotiations  with  the 
English,  115,  149;  dictionary  of 

•    their  language,  146. 

Abercrombie,  Gen.  James,  237 ; 
ordered  to  Oswego,  239 ;  chief  in 
command,  273 ;  besieges  Ticon- 
deroga,  284 ;  retreats,  287 ;  or- 
ders the  destruction  of  Fronte- 
nac,  294  ;  recalled,  302. 

Acadia,  settlement  of,  22  ;  Argall's 
expedition  aj^ainst,  31 ;  disputes 
concerning,  48 ;  Kirk's  expedi- 
tion against,  49 ;  grants  in,  66 ; 
taken  by  the  English,  78 ;  re- 
stored to  France,  79;  taken  by 
the  English,  91  ;  after  the  con- 
quest, 105  ;  expeditions  against, 
120,  133,  13s,  137.  138 ;  ceded  to 
England,  143 ;  boundaries  of,  143, 
171,  destruction  of  settlements 
in,  278. 

Acadians,  the,  disloyal  to  England, 
137,  173,  178  ;  voluntary  remov- 
als of,  143,  176;  exile  of,  182, 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  treaty  of,  170. 

Alabama,  first  settlement  in,  64. 

Albemarle,  Duke  of,  89,  90, 

Alexander  VI.,  Pope,  bull  of,  6. 

Alexander,  Sir  W.,  grant  to,  48, 

Algonquins,  the,  36 ;  their  alliance 
with  the  French,  37,  140 ;  battles 
with  the  Iroquois,  39,  40. 

Allouez,  his  explorations,  62, 

Allumettes,  Isle  des,  42. 

Amherst,  Gen.  Jeffrey,  273 ;  be-^ 
sieges  Louisbourg,  274  ;  at  Lake 
George,  294  ;  chief  in  command, 
302  ;  at  Lake  Champlain,  310 ; 
fails  to  assist  Wolfe,  314,  363 ; 
moves,  367 ;  takes  Isle  Royale, 
369 ;  Montreal,  370. 

Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  79. 

Annapolis.     See  Port  Royal. 

Anne,  Queen,  131,  138,  150. 

Anse  des  Mferes,  346, 


Anse  du  Foulon,  331,  347,  y\S. 

Anson,  Admiral,  168. 

Anville,  Due  d',  166. 

Aouschik,  252. 

Argall  destroys  settlements,  39,  31. 

Armstrong,  Col.  John,  250. 

Aubry,  at  Fort  Du  Quesne,  396 ;  at 

Niagara,  305. 
Austrian  Succession,  War  of,  152. 
Ayer,  Samuel,  135. 

Barre,  Isaac,  374,  333  ;  wounded, 
357. 

Battle  Brook,  149. 

Beaubassin,  176. 

Beaujeu,  217  ;  his  death,  218. 

Beaumont  Church,  328. 

Beauport,  321.  349. 

Beau  S^jour,  Fort,  177,  179 ;  taken, 
181. 

Bedford,  Pa.,  295. 

Belleisle,  154. 

Belletre,  destroys  German  Flats, 
268. 

Bellomont,  Earl  of,  128. 

Bernes  River,  281. 

Biard,  Father,  24 ;  at  Port  Royal, 
26,  27,  31 ;  at  Mount  Desert,  29; 
carried  away,  33. 

Bickford,  Thomas,  iii. 

Biencourt,  25,  31,  3.3,  48. 

Bienville,  Celoron  de,  193. 

Bigot,  Father,  no. 

Biloxi,  Bay  of,  colony  at,  64. 

Bloody  Pond,  engagement  at,  331. 

Boishebert,  172,  322. 

Bolingbroke,  Viscount,  139. 

Boscawen,  Admiral,  211,  235,  273, 

Boston,  68,  70;  proposed  expedi- 
tions against,  122,  165. 

Bougainville,  346,  350,  352,  357, 
359. 

Boundari^,  indefiniteness  of,  143  ; 
negotiations  regarding,  3ia 

Bouquet,  Col.  Henry,  255,  295  ;  at- 
tempts to  take  Du  Quesne,  396 ; 
takes  western  forts,  308. 

Bourbon,  Fort,  125. 


.1^ 


376 


INDEX, 


Bourlamaque,  286,  317. 

Braddock,  Gen.  Edward,  210 ;  his 
plans,  211  ;  movements,  215  ;  de- 
feat, 218 ;  death,  220 ;  Indian 
opinion  of,  221. 

Bradclock's  Ford,  220. 

Bradstreet,  Col.,  attacked,  239,  at 
Ticonderoga,  279 ;  arrests  the 
flight,  288  ;  at  Frontenac,  292. 

Brebeuf  Father,  martyrdom  of,  62. 

Breda,  treafy  of,  79. 

Brunswick,  Me.,  146. 

Bull,  Fort,  taken  by  the  French,  240. 

Bullitt,  Capt.,  298. 

Burnet,  Gov.,  builds  a  fort  at  Os- 
wego, 149. 

Bute,  Earl  of,  his  letter  to  Pitt,  289. 

Buteux,  Father,  death  of,  61. 

Byron,  Capt.,  371, 

Cabot,  John  and  Sebastian,  5. 

"  Cadets,"  303. 

Caens,  William  and  Emeric,  47. 

Callieres,  plan  of,  81  ;  at  La  Prai- 
rie, 113,  succeeds  Frontenac,  129. 

Canada,  origin  of  the  name,  10; 
settlement  of,  35  ;  plans  for  con- 
quest of,  138,  164 ;  state  of  in 
1759,  302  ;  surrendered  to  Eng- 
land, 370. 

Canso,  144,  153. 

Cape  Breton,  143,  144,  271,  277. 

Carillon  Fort.    See  Ticonderoga. 

Carleton,  Col.  Guy,  323,  334; 
wounded,  357. 

Cartier,  Jacques,  8,  16. 

Casco,  attacks  on,  86,  108,  132. 

Casson,  Dollier  de,  63. 

Cataracouay,  Fort.    See  Frontenac. 

Cayugas,  the.    See  Iroquois. 

Chabanel,  Noel,  death  of,  61. 

Champlain,  Lake,  discovery  of,  38 ; 
skirmish  on,  253. 

Champlain,  Samuel,  in  the  West 
Indies,  20 ;  books  by,  20 ;  in  Can- 
ada, 21  ;  founds  Quebec,  36  ;  goes 
against  the  Iroquois,  37,  40,  46  ; 
surrenders  Quebec,  50 ;  death,  53. 

Charles  I.  of  England,  49. 

Charles  VI.  of  Germany,  150. 

Charnisay,  d'Aukiay,  67 ;  his  feud 
with  La  Tour,  67 ;  message  to 
Boston,  72 ;  besieges  La  Tour's 
fort,  74  ;  makes  a  treaty,  75  ;  his 
death,  76. 


Charnisay,  Madame,  77. 
Chebucto,  174. 
Cherokees,  the,  222. 
Chignecto,  120,  134,  172. 
Chippewas,  the,  140. 
Chubb,  Capt.,  Paycho,  his  treach- 
ery,   116;   surrenders   Pemaquid, 

118  ;  killed,  119. 
Church,  Capt.,  Benj.,at  Pemaquid, 

107  ;  in  Acadia,  1 19,  133. 
Cocheco.     See  Dover. 
Colonies,  the  English  predictions  of 

the   independence   of,    169,  372 ; 

proposed  union  of,  207. 
Concord,  N.  H.     Sec  Rumford. 
Contrecoeur,    fort    taken    by,   205 ; 

commands  at  Du  Quesne,  217. 
Converse,  Capt.,  107. 
Cook,  Capt.  James,  277. 
Corlaer.     See  Schenectady. 
Cormoran  Creek,  275. 
Cornwallis,  Gov.,  174,  178. 
Cortcreal,  Caspar,  6. 
Courcelles,  Gov.  of  Canada,  57. 
Croghan,  George,  213. 
Crooked  Run,  216. 
Crown  Point,   fort  built  at,   149; 

Dieskau  at,  226 ;  Amherst  marches 

against,  302,  310 ;  abandoned  by 

the  French,  313. 
Cumberland,  Fort,  N.  S.,  182. 
Cumberland,    Fort,    Md.,  206,  247, 

249- 

Dablou,  Father,  62, 

Dale,  Sir  Thomas,  30. 

Daniel,  Father,  martyrdom  of,  61. 

Dauk,  Capt.,  330. 

Dauve.siere,  57. 

Davis,  Capt.,  Sylvanus,  86. 

Deerfield,  destroyed,  132. 

Delawares,  the,  195,  207,  221. 

De  Lerg,  240. 

De  Levis  at  Fort  William  Henry, 
261  ;  during  the  massacre,  267  ; 
at  Ticonderoga,  284,  286 ;  at 
Ogdensburg,  310 ;  at  Montreal, 
33'>  359.  360;  succeeds  Mont- 
calm, 363  ;  besieges  Quebec,  364. 

De  Monts,  21. 

Denys,  Nicholas,  66,  76. 

Dettingen,  battle  of,  153. 

Dieskau,  Baron,  211,226;  his  ad- 
vance, 228 ;  forms  an  ambuscade, 
230 ;  defeat,  232  ;  death,  234. 


INDEX, 


377 


Dinwiddie,  Gov.,  !:oi ;  plans  a  line 
of  forts,  248. 

Dollard,  Adam,  56. 

Donnacona,  12,  15,  i6, 

Doucett's  Island,  22. 

Dover,  attacked  by  Indians,  82. 

Drucour  at  Louisbourg,  276. 

Du  Buisson,  142. 

Dumas,  217,  331. 

Dummer,  Rev.  S.,  107. 

Dunbar,  216,  220. 

Dundonald,  Earl,  276, 

Du  Quesne,  Fort,  taken  by  the 
French,  203  ;  Braddock's  plan  for 
taking,  212  ;  Forbes  sent  against, 
273,  294 ;  destroyed,  299 ;  re- 
named, 300. 

Du  Quesne,  Marquis,  200. 

Durell,  Admiral,  324. 

Durham,  attack  on,  iii. 

Dustin,  Hannah,  story  of,  121. 

Du  Thet,  28,  29. 

Du  Vivier,  153,  155. 

Edward,  Fort,  190,  227. 
Estoumelle,  Admiral,  166. 

FiNiSTERRE,  Cape,  battle  off,  168. 

Five  Nations,  the.     See  Iroquois.* 

torbes,  Gen.  Joseph,  273  ;  at  Fort 
Du  Quesne,  294. 

Forts,  line  of  French,  189. 

Foxes,  the,  139 ;  defeat  of,  142.  . 

Franklin,  Benj.,  his  plan  of  union, 
207  ;  his  suggestion  to  Braddock, 
212 ;  his  story  of  Loudoun,  238. 

Frederick,  Fort.    See  Crown  Point. 

Frederick  the  Great,  151. 

Frontenac,  Count,  80  ;  plans  of,  83  ; 
at  Montreal,  95 ;  plan  to  take 
Pemaquid,  108  ;  his  dispute  with 
Bellomont,  128  ;  his  death,  129. 

Frontenac,  Fort,  80  ;  rebuilt,  126  ; 
Bradstreet  takes,  292, 

Fry,  Col.  Joshua,  203. 

Gage,  Gen.  Thomeis,  214  ;  ordered 
to  Ogdensburg,  310  ;  at  Oswego, 
368. 

Galissonifere,  Marquis  De,  193. 

Garneau,  Father,  death  of,  59. 

Gamier,  Father,  death  of,  61. 

Gaspereaux,  Fort,  177. 

Gates,  Horatio,  2t4. 

Gemseg,  Fort,  93,  106. 


George,  Lake,  named  by  Joques, 
60 ;  by  Johnson,  227  ;   battle  of, 

230- 

George  II.,  150. 

German  Flats,  descent  upon,  268. 

Gist,  Christopher,  197,  201. 

Glen,  J.  Alexander,  84,  85. 

Goupil,  murder  of,  60. 

Grand  Prd,  168,  184. 

Grant,  Maj.,  296;  defeated,  297. 

Great  Meadows,  204 ;  engagement 
at,  205. 

Groton,  attack  on,  112. 

Guer^heville,  Marchioness  de,  her 
interest  in  Port  Royal,  25  ;  grant 
to  in  America,  26 ;  her  colony  at 
Mt.  Desert,  29 ;  attempt  to  recover 
damages,  34. 

Haldimand,  Colonel,  304, 308,  368. 

Half-Way  Brook,  fight  at,  290. 

Halifax,  settlement  of,  174 ;  Lou- 
doun and  Holbourne  at,  256. 

Hardy,  Sir  Chas.,  278. 

Harmon,  Capt.,  147. 

Hathorn,  Col.,  120. 

Havevhill,  massacres  at,  121,  X35. 

Haviland,  Col.,  313,  368,  370. 

Hawkins,  Capt.,  70,  71. 

Hendrick,  227,  229  ;  his  death,  230. 

Hennepin,  Father,  62. 

Henry  IV.  of  France,  18. 

Hertel,  leads  Indians,  133. 

Highlanders,  at  Ticonderoga,  285, 
286,  288 ;  under  Grant,  297,  299. 

Hochelaga,  12. 

Holbourne,  Admiral,  256. 

Holmes,  Admiral,  342,  346. 

How,  Capt.  Edward,  177. 

Howe,  Lord  George,  256,  273 ; 
under  Abercrombie,  279;  killed, 
281  ;  character  of,  281. 

Hudson  Bay,  English  posts  at,  8r  ; 
taken  by  the  French,  125  ;  restor- 
ed, 143. 

Hudson,  Hendrick,  41. 

Huguenots,  the.     See  Protestants. 

Hurons,  the,  36,  39, 46,  55  ;  missions 
to,  59  ;  alliances  with,  140. 

Iberville,  settlements  planted  by, 
64 ;  at  Hudson  Bay,  82,  125  ;  at 
Schenectady,  83 ;  at  Pemaquid, 
109,  117  ;  in  Newfoundland,  124. 

Indians,  as  allies,  3 ;  leagued  with 


378 


INDEX. 


the    French,    140 ;    slaughter    of 
prisoners  by,  244,  267,  341.     St.^ 
Abenaquis,  Iroquois,  etc. 
Innis,  his  remark  about  Loudoun, 

239- 

Iroquois,  the,  alliance  of,  3 ;  enemies 
of,  36 ;  battles  of  with  Algon- 
quins,  39,  40,  46 ;  fort  of,  45 ;  ex- 
peditions of  against  the  French, 
46,  54i  55.  80,  112  ;  French  ex- 
peditions against,  57,  114,  126; 
some  sent  to  France,  81 ;  with  the 
English,  113 ;  some  taken  to 
England,  138 ;  relations  cf  with 
Delawares,  195  ;  dispute  concern- 
ing, 128  ;  recognized  as  English 
subjects,  143  ;  allied  with  the  Eng- 
lish, 206,  212 ;  incline  to  the 
French,  251,  258,  269. 

Isle  aux  Noix,  surrendered,  370. 

Isle  Royale,  capture  of,  368. 

Italians,  explorations  by,  2. 

Jacobs,  Captain,  250. 

James  II.  of  England,  88,  130. 

Jesuits,  the,  at  Port  Royal,  24,  26 ; 
at  Quebec,  47  ;  martyrdoms,  59 ; 
explorations,  62  ;  in  Acadia,  110. 

Jxigues,  Father,  martyrdom  of,  59. 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  191,  212, 
227  ;  defeats  Dieskau,  232  ;  builds 
a  fort,  234  ;  at  Fort  Edward,  264  ; 
at  Niagara,  304 ;  joins  Amherst, 
368. 

Joliet,  Louis,  62. 

Jonquifcre,  167,  168. 

Jumonville,  fight  of  with  Washing- 
ton, 204. 

Kaskaskia,  65. 
Kennedy,  Capt.,  315. 
King  George's  War,  150. 
King  William's  War,  80. 
Kirk,  Sir  David,  49. 
Kirk,  Louis,  50. 
Kittanning,  destruction  of,  249. 
Kittery,  attack  on,  112. 

La  Chine,  origin  of  the  name,  36. 
La  Come,    172,   262;  attacks  Os- 
wego, 308. 
La  Flfeche,  Father,  25,  27. 
Lalande,  Father,  martyrdom  of,  61. 
Lalemant,  Father,  death  of,  62. 


La  Loutre,  Abb^,  154,  156,  176, 
177,  181. 

Lancaster,  attacked,  133. 

La  Prairie,  fight  at,  113. 

La  Presentation,  mission  of,  190. 

La  Salle,  63,  64. 

La  Tour,  Charles,  33,  48,  49,  51, 
66  ;  his  feud  with  Chamisay,  67  ; 
besieged,  74 ;  his  marriage,  77 ; 
grant  to,  78. 

La  Tour,  Claude,  48,  49,  51. 

I^  Tour,  Madame,  67,  71,  74. 

Lawrence,  Fort,  177. 

Lawrence,  Gen.,  176,  273,  274. 

Le  Boeuf,  Fort,  201,  308. 

Le  Borgne,  68,  77. 

Le  Caron,  Father,  44. 

Leisler,  Gov.,  84. 

Leonardson,  Samuel,  122. 

Lescarbot,  Mark,  23. 

Lewis,  Major,  295,  297. 

Lignery,  217,  305. 

Ligonier,  295. 

Logstown,  conferences  at,  198,  201. 

Long  Sault,  fight  at  the,  56. 

Loring,  Capt.,  314,  367. 

Loudoun,  Earl,  commander-in- 
chief,  237  ;  characteristics  of, 
238  ;  quarters  soldiers,  245,  269  ; 
inaction,  252  ;  plans,  255,  269  ;  at 
Halifax,  256  ;  recalled,  271 

Loudoun,  Fort,  255. 

Louis  XIV.,  130. 

Louisbourg,  built,  144 ;  besieged, 
156,  159  ;  surrendered,  162  ;  re- 
stored, 170;  Loudoun's  attempt 
at,  255 ;  besieged  by  Amherst 
and  Boscat»«n,  274 ;  surrendered, 
277. 

Lovewell,  Capt.  John,  148. 

Loyal,  Fort,  86. 

Loy*-"'  Hanna,  295. 

Lyman,  Gen.  Phinehas,  227  ;  com- 
mands at  Lake  George,  232. 

Macginnis,  Capt.,  233. 

Machias,  66. 

Macpherson,  Allan,  300. 

Madockawando,  108,  no. 

Maisonneuve,  58. 

Mamberton,   23 ;    his  baptisin,  35  ; 

his  death,  27. 
Mance,  Jeanne,  miraculous  call  of, 

58. 
Mantet,  83. 


INDEX, 


379 


March,  Col.,  135. 

Maria  Theresa,  150. 

Marin,  356,  291. 

Marlborough,  Du''^  of,  131. 

Marquette,  Father,  63. 

Martinique,  attack  on,  109. 

Mascarene,  Paul,  153,  167. 

Masse,  Father,  5  /,  30. 

Meneval,  91. 

Mercer,  Col.,  226,  242;  killed,  343. 

Mercer,  Hugh,  214,  250,  251, 

Mercier,  322. 

Merry  Meeting  Bay,  attacked,  146. 

Mesnard,  Father,  59. 

Messagouche,  the,  176,  177, 

Miami,  Fort,  63. 

Miamis,  the,  1^,  201 ;  defeated  by 
the  French,  199. 

Micmacs,  the,  29,  117,  175. 

Minas,  134,  167,  175,  184. 

Mississippi,  first  settlement  in,  64. 

Mississippi  Valley,  the,  143,  171. 

Mohawks,  the.     See  Iroquois. 

Monckton,  Gen.,  180,  323,  328. 

Monroe,  Col.,  262. 

Montcalm,  Gen.,  241 ;  invests  Os- 
wego, 341  ;  Indian  massacres  un- 
der, 244,  266 ;  plan  to  take  Fort 
William  Henry,  258;  besieges 
it,  362  ;  predicts  the  fall  of  Cana- 
da, 372 ;  at  Ticonderoga,  280  ; 
at  Quebec,  322  ;  his  death,  359  ; 
burial,  362  ;  letters  of,  345,  373. 

Montgomery,  Richard,  274,  323. 

Montmorenci,  the,  320;  battle  of, 
334. 

Montreal,  site  of,  14 ;  founded,  57 ; 
attacked  by  Iroquois,  80  ;  by  the 
English,  139,  302  ;  siege  of,  370. 

Morgan,  Daniel,  314. 

Morny,  Charles  de,  10. 

Moxus,  106. 

Murray,  Gen.,  333,  343  ;  at  Quebec, 

364. 

Naval    Engagements,    117,   125, 

168,  311,  235. 
Naxonat,  Fort,  no,  120. 
Necessity,  Fort,  205. 
Neff,  Mary,  i3i. 
Nelson,  Fort,  135. 
Nelson,  John,  105,  108. 
Newcastle,  Duke  of,  370. 
Newfoundland,    posts     taken     by 

French,  134,  134 ;  restored,  143. 


New  Lorette,  55. 

Niagara,   Fort,   80,  1A9;    Shirley's 

expedition,  325  ;  Prideaux  at,  303, 

304 ;  besieged,  304. 
Nicholson  Col.,  takes  Port  Royal, 

136  ;  in  command,  139. 
Nipissings,  the,  42,  261. 
Noble,  Arthur,  killed,  168. 
Norridgewock,  attacked,  144,  148. 
Nou^,  Father,  death  of,  61. 
Nova  Sco*'-«,.     See  Acadia. 
Noyan  at  Frontenac,  293. 

Ogdensburg,  190. 
Ohio  Company,  the,  197. 
Ohio  Valley,  the,  143,  171,  189, 193. 
Olier,  J.  J.,  58. 
Oneidas,  the.    See  Iroquois. 
Onondagas,  the.     See  Iroquois. 
Ontario,  Fort,  242. 
Oswegatchie,  190,  206. 
Oswego,   149,    190,   293,   226;    be- 
sieged, 241. 
Ottagomies,  the.    See  Foxes. 
Ottawas,  the,  42,  140,  260. 
Oyster  River.     See  Durham. 

Paris,  Treaty  of,  371. 

Pemaquid,  Fort,  attacked  by  Ind- 
ians, 83 ;  rebuilt,  107  ;  negotia- 
tions at,  116;  destroyed,  118. 

Penobscot,  66,  79,  120,  134,  147. 

Penn,  William,  195. 

Peoria,  fort  at,  63, 

Pepperell,  Sir  W.,  at  Louisbourg, 
157  ;  made  baronet,  164. 

Phlps,  Sir  W.,  early  life  of,  87; 
takes  Port  Royal,  91  ;  at  Quebec, 
94 ;  rebuilds  Pemaquid,  107. 

Picqua,  198. 

Picquet,  Father,  190,  245,  308. 

Pitt,  Fort,  300. 

Pitt,  William,  371,  389. 

Pittsburgh,  300. 

Plains  of  Abraham,  344,  351 ;  first 
battle  of,  352  ;  second,  365, 

Point  Levi,  326,  328,  329,  331. 

Pontgravfe,  20. 

Pontiac,  218. 

Portneuf,  86. 

Port  Royal,  23  ;  destroyed,  33  ;  at- 
tacked, 71  ;  surrendered  to  Eiig- 
land,  78 ;  expedition  against,  87  ; 
taken  by  Phips,  91 ;  by  Nicholson, 


aSo 


INDEX. 


T36;    attacked  by  Indians,   147, 

154.  J56. 
Pouchot,  241,  303,  308,  368. 
Poutrincourt,  22,  24,  25,  26,  33. 
Pragmatic  Sanction,  the,  151. 
Pretender,  the,  131, 
J   Prevost,  Major,  96. 
Prideaux,  Gen.,  302,  304,  305. 
Prince  Edward's  Island,  277. 
Protestants,  excluded  from  French 

colonies,  64  ;  plan  concerning,  81. 
Putnam,  Israel,  224,  264,  279,  291. 

Quebec,  town  on  the  site  of,  12 ; 
founded,  25  ;  taken  by  Kirk,  50  ; 
expeditions  against,  139, 164, 302  ; 
besieged  by  Wolfe,  319 ;  surren- 
dered, 359 ;  beseiged  by  De  Levis, 

365- 
Queen  Anne's  War,  130. 

Ramezay,  165,  167. 

Rasles,  Father,  144,  148. 

Recollect,  Sault  au,  59. 

Recollects,  the,  44,  59. 

Richelieu,  Cardinal,  47,  49,  69. 

Richelieu,  Fort,  57. 

Rigaud  de  Vaudreuil,  253,  268,  290. 

Roberval,  16. 

Roche,  Marquis  de  la,  18. 

Rochelle,  siege  of,  49. 

Rocky  Brook,  skirmish  at,  233. 

Rogers,  Robert,  279,  291,  313,  315. 

Rome,  fort  at,  291. 

Roq-emont,  49. 

Rumford,  N.  H.,  attacked,  169. 

Ryswick,  peace  of,  123,  128. 

Sabbath-Day  Point,  260,  280. 
Sable  Island,  convicts  of,  19. 
Saco,  attacks  on,  82,  132. 
St.  Castin,  Baron,  79, 118,  132, 134, 

137.  138. 
St.  Charles  River,  319. 
St.  Foy,  364. 
St.  Francis  Indians,  315, 
St.  Germain-en-Laye,  treaty  of,  52. 
St.  H^16ne,  82,  83,  100. 
St.  Joseph,  fort  at,  63. 
St.  Lawrence,  the  name  of,  11. 
Ste.  Marie,  mission  of,  59. 
St.  .Pierre,  Chevalier,  202,  204,  231. 
St.  Ours,  321,  355. 
St.  Sacrament,  Lake.     See  George. 
Salmon  Falls,  massacre  at,  86. 


Saunders,  Admiral,  302,  323,  36a  ' 

Saussaye,  29. 

Scarayoodi,  221. 

Schenectady,  massacre  at,  84. 

Scholars'  Battle,  the,  332. 

Schuyler,  John,  95. 

Schuyler,  Peter,  113,  115,  139. 

Schuyler,  Philip,  242. 

Senecas,  the.     See  Iroquois. 

Senezergues,  321,  355. 

Seven  Years'  War,  the,  236. 

Shawnees,  the,  195,  207,  221. 

Shenandoah  Valley,  the,  246. 

Shingis,  249. 

Shirley,  Gov.,  156, 164,  210 ;  ordered 

to  Niagara,  224 ;  at  Oswego,  226; 

military  capacity  of  236 ;  removed, 

237. 
Silesia,  151. 

Sillery,  334 ;  battle  of,  365. 
Six  Nations,  the.     See  Iroquois. 
Sorel,  57. 
Spain,    claims    of,    26 ;    Lon'.siana 

ceded  to,  371. 
Spanish  succession,  Warof  th;,  131. 
Stadacond,  12,  i6. 
Stanwix,  Fort,  291. 
Stanwix,  Gen.,  255. 
Stark,  John,  224,  259,  279,  283. 
Subercase,  134,  136, 

Taxus,  110,  112. 

Temple,  Sir  Thomas,  78,  105. 

Texas,  colony  in,  64. 

Thury,  83,  106,  no,  113,  118. 

Ticonderoga,    227,   234,   241,   279 ; 

besieged,  284, 302, 310 ;  abandoned 

by  the  French,  312. 
Tobacco  Nation,  the,  55. 
Toronto,  abandoned,  310. 
Townshend,  Gen.,  323  ;  his  plan  for 

taking  Quebec,  343 ;  ability    of, 

354  ;  m  command,  357,  359. 
Tracy,  Marquis  de,  57. 
Trdp^z^e,  280,  281, 
Trout  Brook,  281. 
Turtle  Creek,  216. 
Tyng,  Edward,  105,  163. 

Utrecht,  treaty  cf,  143. 

Valrenne,  113: 

Vaudreuil,    Marquis  de,    112,    137, 

225,  293.  303.  351.  359.  370. 
Vaughan,  Col.  Wra.,  159,  161,  164. 


/ 


m 


. 


INDEX, 


381 


jred 
!26; 
/ed, 


( 


lana 
131. 


Vauquelin,  321,  367. 

Venango,  Kort,  200,  308. 

Vergor,    at    Beau   Sejour,    i8i  ;   at 

W  olfe's  cove,  348,  350. 
Verrazzano,  6. 
Viel,  Father,  59. 
Vignan,  Nicholas  de,  41, 
Villebon,  93,  105,  106,  no,  117,  120. 
Villemarie,  59. 
Villieis,  167,  205. 
Villieu,  no,  ii8,  129. 
Voltaire,  164. 

Wainwright,  Col.,  135. 

Waldo,  Gen.,  158. 

Waldron,  Maj.,  82. 

Walker,  Sir  H.,  139;  retreats,  141. 

Walking  Purchase,  the,  196. 

Walley,  Maj.,  94,  99,  100. 

Walpole,  Horace,  quoted,  257. 

Warraghiyagey,  191. 

Warren,  Com.,  157,  159,  163,  168. 

Washington,  Augustine,  197. 

Washington,  George,  at  Le  Bceuf, 
201  ;  with  Fry,  203 ;  fight  with 
Jumonville,  204 ;  at  Great  Mead- 
ows, 205;  with  Braddock,  214; 
commands  Virginia  forces,  221 ; 
at  Winchester,  247  ;  meets  Lou- 
doun, 254  ;  with  Forbes,  294,  299. 


Washington,  Lawrence,  197. 

Waterford,  200. 

Webb,  Gen.,  retreat  of,  245 ;  falls  to 
relieve  Monroe,  262. 

Weenis,  Capt.,  83. 

Wells,  attacks  on,  106,  107,  132. 

Westbrook,  Col.,  145,  147. 

Whitefield,  George,  157. 

William  IIL,  130. 

William  Henry,  Fort,  234,  260;  siege 
of,  262,  311. 

Williams,  Ephraim,  224,  229,  230. 

W^illiams,  Roger,  72. 

Williamstown,  attacked,  169. 

Wills'  Creek,  204. 

Winchester,  246. 

Winslow,  John,  180,  184. 

Winslow,  Josiah,  147. 

Winthrop,  Gen.,  94. 

Winthrop,  Gov.,  68,  69,  75. 

Wolfe,  Gen.  James,  at  Louisbourg, 
273  ;  in  Acadia,  278  ;  ordered  to 
Quebec,  302  ;  besieges  it,  321  ;  at 
Montmorenci,  334  ;  his  illness, 
343;  wounded,  355,  356;  his 
death,  357  ;  his  burial,  361. 

Wolfe's  Cove,  321,  347,  348. 

Wooster  River,  skirmish  at,  86. 

Wyandots,  the,  55. 

York,  attacks  on,  106,  112. 


(/ 


279; 
sned 


1  for 
oi, 


137. 
164. 


